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UCSD  Lib. 


THE 


PROGRESS  OF  DEMOCRACY; 


ILLUSTRATED  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF 


GAUL    AND    FRANCE 


ALEXANDRE    DUMAS. 


TRANSLATED  BY  AN  AMERICAN, 


Sans  haine,  sans  crainte. 


NEW    YORK: 

J.   &   H.   G.    LANGLEY,   57  CHATHAM    STREET. 
1841. 


Entered,  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1841 ,  by 

EDWARD    S.   GOULD, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


R.  Craighead,  Phinteh, 
112  Fulton  Street. 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE. 


The  title  of  this  book  in  the  original  is,  simply,  Ga0le  et 
France,  without  one  additional  or  explanatory  word  :  but  on 
presenting  it  to  the  public  in  English,  the  translator  has  ven- 
tured to  adopt  a  different  title,  which  though  not  that  of  the 
author,  is,  nevertheless,  descriptive  of  his  work  and  of  the  pur- 
pose with  which  he  wrote  it. 

Its  chief  value  to  the  general  reader  consists  in  the  vast 
amount  of  historical  facts  which  it  embodies  in  a  compass  so 
small  and  in  a  style  so  attractive.  Indeed,  M.  Dumas  seems 
to  be  invested  with  a  faculty,  peculiarly  his  own,  of  abridging 
History  nearly  to  the  limits  of  Chronology,  without  sacrificing 
the  interest  that  belongs  to  illustrated  narrative. 

The  political  theory  of  the  work  is  original,  striking  and 
beautifully  developed :  how  far  it  is  sound  as  to  the  past  and 
prescient  as  to  the  future,  the  reader  and  Time  must,  severally, 
determine. 

The  task  of  translation  has  been  rather  arduous,  owing  to 
the  difficulty  of  rendering  political  technical  terms  ;  and  owing, 
also,  to  the  incessant  consultation  and  collation  of  authorities, 


IV  PREFACE. 

necessary  to  make  the  names  of  persons  and  places  intelligible 
to  the  English  reader :  and  although,  at  last,  tolerable  correct- 
ness has  been  attained  ;  yet  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  many 
others,  the  "  Progress  of  Democracy"  is  doubtless  obnoxious  to 
criticism. 

The  various  notes  introduced  by  the  translator  have  been 
mingled  indiscriminately  with  those  of  the  author,  but  the 
reader  will  readily  distinguish  them  from  each  other  by  their 
relation  to  the  text. 

New  York,  May  11th,  1841. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction page  13 

PART  FIRST. 

The  Franco-Roman  Monarchy  ;  or  Gaul,  from  its 
first  settlement  to  the  accession  of  Peppin-le- 
Brep 29 

PART  SECOND. 

The  Frank  Monarchy;  or  Gaul,  from  the  acces- 
sion of  Peppin-le-Bref  to  that  of  Hugh  Capet 89 

PART  THIRD. 

The  French  Monarchy;  or  France,  from  the  acces- 
sion of  Hugh  Capet  to  that  of  Philip  de  Valois 169 

Conclusion 343 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  DEMOCRACY. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  limits  prescribed  to  the  following  work  allow 
but  a  brief  space  for  introductory  remark;  we  must, 
therefore,  content  ourselves  with  a  very  summary 
view  of  the  earlier  ages  of  the  world. 

The  Hebrew  recoi'ds  —  the  archives  of  a  nascent 
world  —  apprize  us  that  the  first  family,  like  the  fiery 
triangle  which  symbolizes  God,  divided  into  three 
branches ;  and,  under  the  conduct  of  its  leaders, 
deposited  in  the  three  parts  of  the  then  known  earth 
the  germ  of  future  nations. 

Previous  to  this  separation,  however;  that  there 
might  be  a  distinct  nation — a  primordial  seed  —  a 
primitive  people  —  Canaan,  whom  the  malediction 
of  Noah  drove  from  his  presence,  descended,  with 
his  eleven  children,  the  mountains  of  Armenia, 
whereon  the  ark  had  rested ;  traversed  the  Jordan 
in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  afterward  taken  by 
Moses;  and  established  himself  on  the  soil  since  call- 
ed Palestine,  but  to  which  the  proscribed  fugitives 
gave  the  name  of  their  chief  Each  brother  soon 
2 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

became  the  head  of  a  family;  each  family,  a  tribe  ; 
and  the  several  tribes,  a  people  :  the  race  of  one 
man  extended  East  and  West  from  the  Jordan  to 
the  Mediterranean,  and  North  and  South  from  Mount 
Libanus  to  the  torrent  of  Bezor,  or  the  River  of 
Egypt. 

Here,  separated  from  the  rest  of  mankind  by  moun- 
tains, rivers,  and  the  sea — separated  before  the  auda- 
cious enterprise  of  Babel  led  to  the  confusion  of 
tongues  — this  nation  preserved,  what  tv;^o  centuries 
later  Abraham  w^as  to  make  his  ovv^n  ;  the  primitive 
idiom  of  the  children  of  God,  and  the  first  soil  pos- 
sessed by  the  father  of  men. 

When  the  day  of  the  dispersion  of  the  nations 
had  arrived ;  when  the  entire  world  was  given  to  the 
descendants  of  three  men,  the  sons  of  Ham  turned 
toward  the  South,  crossed  the  Nile,  and,  under  the 
guidance  of  Mizraim,  founded  the  Kingdom  of  Egypt 
between  the  Great  Desert  and  the  Arabian  Gulf; 
where,  five  centuries  afterward,  Osymandias  was  to 
build  Thebes;  and  Uchoreus,  Memphis.  Their  chil- 
dren, darkened  by  the  sun  of  Africa,  spread  them- 
selves from  the  Straits  of  Babelmandel  to  Mauritania, 
where  the  Atlas  takes  its  rise ;  and  from  the  Isthmus 
of  Suez  to  the  Cape  of  Tempests,  where  rush  to- 
gether the  stormy  billows  of  the  Atlantic  and  Indian 
Oceans. 

The  sons  of  Shem  journeyed  eastward ;  divided 
themselves  into  three  colonies  under  three  different 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

chiefs,  and,  like  the  branches  of  a  river,  took  diver- 
gent courses  from  their  very  source. 

Arphaxad,  the  eldest,  founded  on  the  left  of  the 
Persian  Gulf  the  kingdom  of  Chaldea — a  privileged 
race,  who  w^ere  one  day  to  take  the  title  of  the  Peo- 
ple of  God  and  to  give  birth  to  Terah,  of  whom 
Abraham  was  born. 

Elam,  the  second  son,  crossed  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Tigris,  passed  over  a  chain  of  unknown  moun- 
tains, and  planted  at  their  base  the  kingdom  of  the 
Elamites,  the  remembrance  of  which  still  survives 
in  the  names  of  a  great  city  and  a  great  man,  —  Per- 
sepolis  and  Cyrus. 

Asshur,  the  third  son,  paused  in  his  journey  be- 
tween Mesopotamia  and  Syria  ;  built  Nineveh ;  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  Assyria,  where 
Nimrod,  the  hunter,  headed  that  list  of  thirty-four 
kings  which  was  closed  by  Sardanapalus. 

Thus,  the  posterity  of  the  three  sons  of  Shem  dis- 
persed themselves  over  that  garden  of  the  world, 
called  Asia.  They  traversed  forests  abounding  with 
gandal-wood  and  myrrh  ;  passed  rivers  that  flowed 
over  beds  of  coral  and  pearl ;  and,  in  mines  of  rubies, 
topaz,  and  diamonds,  laid  the  foundations  of  those 
wonderful  cities,  Bagdad,  Ispahan,  and  Cashmere. 

The  descendants  of  Japhet  chose  a  more  gloomy 
abode.  Travelling  through  the  nebulous  atmosphere 
of  the  West  —  after  pausing  in  Greece  to  build 
Sicyon    and   Argos — they  spread  themselves    over 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

Europe  from  Nova  Zembla  to  the  Straits  of  Gibral- 
tar, and  from  the  Euxine  to  the  Norwegian  shore  : 
thus  appropriating  that  portion  of  the  earth  which 
the  Hebrews,  poetic  in  their  ignorance,  styled  "  the 
isles  of  the  nations." 

When,  in  process  of  time,  the  whole  (eastern) 
world  became  inhabited,  God  willed  that  the  people 
should  be  instructed  by  science  and  enlightened  by 
religion ;  and,  that  none  should  escape  the  benefit  of 
this  double  blessing.  He  decreed  that  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  should  be  brought,  by  conquest,  within 
the  arras  of  the  Roman  Colossus. 

And,  to  prepare  for  this  gi'eat  era  of  civilization 
and  Christianity,  at  a  period  no  less  than  fifteen  cen- 
turies previous  to  its  advent,  we  see  the  following 
concurrent  movements  coinciding  with  the  eternal 
purposes  of  Jehovah.  From  Egypt  there  set  forth, 
simultaneously, —  a  colony  of  wise  men  under  the  gui- 
dance of  Cecrops,  who  reared  that  cradle  of  the  arts 
and  sciences,  Athens  :  —  an  army  of  soldiers  com- 
manded by  Pelasgus,  whose  sons  founded  Rome, 
the  symbol  of  universal  conquest:  —  and  a  band  of 
slaves  led  by  Moses,  from  whose  descendants  was 
born  Christ,  the  type  of  universal  equality. 

Thence,  hastening  forward  the  mysterious  work 
appeared  — 

In  Greece,  for  instruction. 

Homer  and  Euripides,  the  poets ;  Lycurgus  and 
Solon,  the  legislators ;  Plato  and  Socrates,  the  phi- 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

losophers;  and  the  whole  world  studied  their  poems, 
adopted  their  laws,  and  assented  to  their  dogmas ! 

In  Rome,  for  conquest, 

Caesar,  general  and  dictator ;  whose  army  swept 
across  the  world  like  a  mighty  river,  receiving  in  its 
bosom  the  tributary  streams  of  fourteen  nations  — 
making  one  current  of  all  these  waters ;  one  peo- 
ple of  all  these  inhabitants ;  one  language  of  all 
these  idioms :  and,  though  all  subsequently  escaped 
from  his  grasp,  it  was  but  to  form,  within  the  firmer 
grasp  of  Octavius  Augustus,  one  empire  of  all  these 
empires. 

At  length,  the  set  time  having  come,  in  a  comer 
of  Judea,  and  toward  the  East,  where  the  day  arises, 
arose  Curist,  the  sun  of  civilization  ;  and,  surmount- 
ing the  Roman  horizon,  separated  with  his  hallowed 
rays  the  ancient  from  the  modern  age.  His  light  shone 
for  three  centuries  ere  it  illuminated  Constantine. 

But  this  empire,  too  vast  to  be  held  in  subjection 
by  one  man,  dropped  from  the  dying  hands  of  Theo- 
dosius  the  Great ;  and,  breaking  in  two  parts,  rolled 
on  either  side  of  his  coffin  —  forming,  under  Arcadiua 
and  Honorius,  the  two  christian  Empires  of  the 
East  and  the  West. 

Those  streams  of  nations,  however,  which  threw 
themselves  into  the  great  Roman  flood,  brought  with 
them  more  slime  than  pure  water.  The  empire 
gained,  indeed,  their  science  and  civilization,  but  it 
was  forced  to  take,  in  connexion  with  these,  their 
2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

concomitant  and  inseparable  ^'ices.  Corruption  en- 
tered the  court;  debauchery,  the  cities  ;  and  supine- 
ness,  the  camps.  Men  drooped  under  the  weight  of 
mantles,  so  light  that  the  breeze  would  lift  them  from 
their  shoulders.  Women  passed  their  days  at  the 
baths  ;  and  left  them,  veiled,  for  houses  of  licentious- 
ness. Soldiers,  unarmed,  reposed  on  couches  be- 
neath painted  tents ;  and  drank  from  cups  heavier 
than  their  swords.  All  things  had  become  venal ; 
the  integrity  of  citizens,  the  honor  of  wives,  the 
service  of  waniors.  A  nation  is  near  its  fall  when 
its  lares  are  statues  of  gold. 

The  young  and  pure  morality  of  the  Gospel  was  not 
in  harmony  with  this  worn  out  and  corrupted  world. 
The  primitive  race,  fallen  into  impiety,  was  destroyed 
by  water :  the  second,  steeped  in  corruption,  was 
now  to  be  purified  by  fire  and  the  sword. 

Accordingly,  from  the  heart  of  countries  unknown 
to  this  degenerate  people  ;  from  the  North,  the  East 
and  the  South,  with  great  tumult  of  arms,  arose  innu- 
merable hordes  of  barbarians.  They  rushed  over 
the  land  in  irregular  masses  ;  some  on  foot;  some  on 
horses  ;  some  on  camels  ;  and  some  on  sleds  drawn  by 
the  rein-deer.  *  They  crossed  rivers  by  floating  on 
their  bucklers;!  they  traversed  the  sea  in  frail  barks. 


*  Fuit  alius  quatuor  cervis  junctus,  qui  fuisse  dicitur  regis 
Gothorum,  — Vospicus  in  vita  Aurcliani. 

+  Enatantes  super  parmA  posiii  amnem,  in  ulteriorem  egressi 
sunt  ripam.  —  Greg.  Tdk. 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

They  went  onward,  driving  the  inhabitants  before 
them  with  their  swords,  as  the  shepherd  drives  the 
flock  v/ith  his  crook.  They  overturned  nation  after 
nation,  as  if  the  voice  of  God  had  said,  I  will  mingle 
the  people  of  the  earth  as  the  whirlwind  mingles  the 
dust,  until  from  their  contact  the  sparks  of  the  chris- 
tian faith  shall  be  kindled  over  the  face  of  the  earth  ; 
and  ancient  times  and  memorials  shall  be  forgotten, 
and  all  things  shall  become  new. 

There  was,  however,  order  in  destruction  ;  for, 
from  this  chaos,  a  new  world  was  to  emerge.  Each 
actor  in  the  drama  had  his  part  assigned  him  ;  God 
having  apportioned  to  each  his  task,  as  the  husband- 
man designates  to  his  laborers  the  fields  they  are  to 
harrow. 

First,  Alaric,  at  the  head  of  the  Goths,  overran 
Italy,  impelled  by  the  breath  of  Jehovah,  as  a  vessel 
is  driven  by  the  tempest.  He  goes  not  in  his  own 
strength  merely  ;  but  seems  urged  and  sustained  by 
a  mighty,  yet  invisible  power.  A  monk  met  him  in 
the  midst  of  his  career,  and  conjured  him  to  turn 
back. 

"  It  is  not  in  my  power,"  replied  thebarbarian :  "  an 
irresistible  impulse  forces  me  onward  to  the  over- 
throw of  Rome." 

Three  times  he  surrounded  the  eternal  city  with 
his  sea  of  soldiers ;  and  three  times,  like  the  ebb- 
ing tide,  he  retired  from  it.  An  embassy  of  citi- 
zens was  at  length  despatched  to  his  camp,  recom- 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

mending  him  to  abandon  his  enterprise,  and  assuring 
him  that  he  would  else  encounter  an  army  thrice  as 
numerous  as  his  own. 

"So  much  the  better,"  replied  this  reaper  of  men; 
"  the  thicker  the  grass,  the  more  easily  is  it  mown."  * 

At  length,  however,  he  acceded  to  their  request, 
on  condition  of  receiving,  as  a  recompense  for  his 
clemency,  all  the  gold,  silver,  precious  stones,  and 
barbarian  slaves  that  the  city  contained. 

"  And  what,  then,  will  remain  to  the  inhabitants  ?" 
demanded  the  ambassadors. 

"  Life,"  replied  Alaric. 

The  Romans,  of  necessity,  submitted  to  the  severe 
terms  of  the  conqueror,  and  delivered  to  him  five 
thousand  pounds'  weight  of  gold  ;  thirty  thousand 
pounds  of  silver ;  four  thousand  tunics  of  silk ;  three 
thousand  scarlet  skins ;  and  three  thousand  pounds 
of  pepper,  t  The  vanquished  inhabitants,  for  their 
ransom,  had  melted  the  golden  statue  of  Courage, 
which  they  called  the  Martial  Virtue.  | 


*  Ipsius,  inquit,  fenum  rariore  facilius  resecatur. —  Zozi- 

MIUS. 

t  duinquies  mille  libras  auri,  et  prcetcr  has,  trccies  niille  libras 
argenti,  quatcr  mille  tunicas  sericas,  et  ter  mille  pelles  coccin- 
eas,  et  piperis  pondus  quod  ter  mille  libras  Eequaret.  —  Ibid. 

t  Cluorum  erat  in  numero  Fortitudinis  quoque  simulacrum, 
quam  Romani  Virtutem  vocant,  quo  sane  corrupto  quidquid 
fortitudinis  alquevirtutis  apud  Romanos  superabat  extinctum 
fuit.  —  Ibid. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

Genseric,  at  the  head  of  the  Vandals,  passed  into 
Africa,  and  marched  toward  Carthage,  where  the 
wrecks  of  Rome  had  taken  refuge:  toward  Carthage, 
the  harlot ;  where  men,  crowned  with  flowers  and 
dressed  like  women,  accosted  the  passers-by  and  prof- 
fered their  monstrous  favors.  * 

He  an-ived  before  the  city ;  and  while  his  troops 
were  mounting  the  ramparts,  the  people  were  descen- 
ding to  the  circus.  Without,  was  the  tumult  of 
arms ;  and  within,  the  resounding  echoes  of  the 
games  :  at  the  foot  of  the  walls  were  the  shrieks  and 
curses  of  those  who  slipped  in  gore  and  fell  in  the 
melee  ;  on  the  steps  of  the  amphitheatre,  were  the 
songs  of  musicians  and  the  sound  of  accompanying 
flutes. 

After  taking  full  possession  of  the  city,  Genseric 
presented  himself  at  the  circus,  and  commanded  its 
guards  to  open  the  gates. 

"  To  whom  ]"  said  they. 

"  To  the  King  of  the  earth  and  the  sea,"  replied 
the  conqueror. 

Not  content  Avith  the  subjugation  of  Carthage, 
Genseric  now  prepared  for  further  victories.  He 
did  not  know  Avhat  people  dwelt  on  the  earth,  but  he 
panted  to  destroy  them.     He  embarked  his  army  on 


♦  Indicia  sibi  quaedam  monstruosaj  impuritatis  inectebant,  et 
foeminse  tegminum  illigamentis  capita  velarunt,  atquepublice  in 
civitate. —  Salvien. 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

the  sea,  and  when  the  pilot  demanded  what  course 
he  should  steer,  his  answer  was, 

"  Where  God  pleases  to  send  me."  * 
"  Against  what  nation  do  yon  make  war]" 
"Against  that  which  God  wills  to  punish."  t 
The  last  of  this  trio  of  conquerors,  was  Attila, 
whose  destination  was  Gaul.  Wherever  he  en- 
camped, his  army  covered  the  space  of  three  cities. 
A  captive  king  mounted  guard  at  the  tent  of  each  of 
his  generals  ;  and,  at  his  own  tent,  one  of  his  own 
generals  stood  sentinel.  He  disdained  the  gold  and 
silver  vessels  of  Greece,  and  feasted  on  raw  flesh 
served  in  dishes  of  wood.  As  he  paused  with  his 
army  on  the  banks  of  the  Danube,  arrested  for  the 
moment  by  its  deep  and  turbulent  current,  a  she-dog 
led  the  way  to  a  ford  across  the  Palus  Maeotides, 
and  disappeared.!  Having  surmounted  this  obsta- 
cle, he  swept  like  a  torrent  over  the  Eastern  Empire, 
making  Leo  the  Second  and  Zeno  Isauricus  his 
tributaries.  He  strode  with  disdain  through  Rome, 
already  ruined  by  Alaric,  and  at  length  planted  his 
foot  on  that  portion  of  the  earth  which  is  now  called 
France.     Here,  his  devastating    progress   left   but 


*  Intenogatus  a  Nauclevo,  quo  tendere  populabundus  vellet, 
respondisse :  Q.uo  Deus  impulerit.  —  Zozimius. 
+  In  eos  quibus  iratus  est  Deus.  —  Procope. 
t  Mox  quoque  ut  Scythica  terra  ignotis  apparuit,  cerva  dis- 

paruit,  —  JORNANDES. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

two  cities  standing,  Troyes  and  Paris.  By  day,  the 
earth  was  ciimsoned  with  blood  ;  and  at  night,  the 
blazing  homes  of  the  slaughtered  inhabitants  illumi- 
ned and  reddened  the  firmament.  Children  were 
suspended  by  the  leg  to  trees,  and  abandoned,  alive, 
to  birds  of  prey.*  Maidens  were  crushed  under 
chariot-wheels.  Old  men  were  fastened  to  the  necks 
of  goaded  horses  that  rushed  with  them  to  destruc- 
tion. Five  hundred  blazing  cities  designated  the 
march  of  the  King  of  the  Huns  across  the  world,  and 
a  desolate  wilderness  occupied  the  intervals  between 
them. 

"  The  grass  itself  will  not  grow,"  said  the  exter- 
minator, "  after  the  steed  of  Attila  has  trampled  it !" 

Everything  concerning  these  envoys  of  celestial 
vengeance  is  extraordinary. 

Alaric,  when  about  to  embark  for  Sicily,  died  at 
Cosentia.  His  soldiers,  aided  by  their  army  of  pri- 
soners, turned  the  course  of  the  Busento,  and  dug 
a  deep  trench  for  his  corse  in  the  midst  of  the  chan- 
nel. They  then  heaped  over  the  body  gold  and  jewels 
and  precious  stuffs,  turned  back  the  current  of  the 
river  to  its  original  bed,  and  massacred  the  slaves 


*  Irruentes  super  parentes  nostros,  omnem  substnntiam  abs- 
tulerunt,  pueros  per  nervum  femoris  ad  arbores  appendentes, 
puellas  amplius  ducentas  crudeli  nece  interfecerunt.  —  Greg. 
Tor. 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

who  had  aided  in  the  task,  that  the  secret  of  the 
sepulture  might  remain  untold* 

Attila  expired  in  the  arras  of  his  bi'ide,  Ildico  ;  and 
the  Huns  made  incisions  beneath  their  eyes  with 
the  points  of  their  swords,  that  with  the  blood  of  men, 
and  not  the  tears  of  women,  they  might  bewail  the  loss 
of  their  conquering  chieftain. t  The  flower  of  his  sol- 
diers kept  watch  during  the  day  over  his  body,  chant- 
ing warlike  songs.  At  night,  they  enclosed  the  corse  in 
three  coffins  —  one  of  gold,  another  of  silver,  and  the 
last  of  iron  —  and  buried  it  piivately  on  a  bed  of 
arms,  flags  and  precious  stones  :  and,  as  in  the  case 
of  Alaric,  to  prevent  the  secret  of  this  sepulchral 
wealth  from  transpiring,  the  grave-diggers  were 
pushed  into  the  tomb  and  inteiTed  alive  with  the 
dead.  | 

Thus  passed  away  these  men  who,  instructed  in 
their  mission  by  a  savage  instinct,  forestalled  the 
judgment  of  the  world ;  entitling  themselves  the 
hammer  of  the  universe,  or  the  scourge  of  Goi>.  § 

*  Hujus  ergo,  in  medio  alveo,  collecto  captivorum  agmine, 
sepulturae  locum  effodiunt:  in  cujus  fodise  gremio  Alaricum 
multis  opibus  obiuunt:  rursusque  aquas  in  suum  alveum 
reducentes,  ne  a  quoquam  quandoque  locus  cognosceretur,  fos- 
sores  omnes  interemerunt.  —  Jornandes. 

t  Ut  prajliator  eximius,  non  foemineis  lamentationibus  et 
lacrymis,  sed  sanguine  lugeretur  virili.  —  Ibid. 

JEt,  ut  tot  et  tantis  divitiis  humana  curiositas  arceretur, 
operi  deputatos  detestabili  mercede  trucidarunt,  emersitque 
momentanea  mors  sepelientibus  cum  sepulto.  —  Jbid. 

§  "  En  ego  sum  malleus  orbis." 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

When  the  wind  had  dispersed  the  dust  of  these 
countless  armies ;  when  the  smoke  of  these  blazing 
cities  had  ascended  to  the  sky ;  when  the  vapors, 
arising  from  these  murderous  battle-fields,  had  re- 
turned to  the  earth  in  fertilizing  dews  ;  when,  in 
short,  the  eye  could  penetrate  to  this  immense  chaos 
through  the  veil  of  dust,  smoke  and  vapor  that  envel- 
oped it,  a  young  and  renewed  people  were  seen 
pressing  around  a  few  old  men  who  held  the  Gospel 
in  one  hand  and  the  Cross  in  the  other. 

These  old  men  were  the  fathers  of  the  church. 

These  young  people  were  our  forefathers,  as  the 
Hebrews  had  been  our  ancestors ;  living  springs 
which  gushed  pure  from  the  earth  at  the  very  spot 
where  the  corrupted  waters  were  ingulphed. 

These  were  the  Franks,  the  Burh-Gunds,  and  the 
Visigoths  who  divided  Gaul :  the  Ostro-Goths,  the 
Langobardi,  and  the  Gepidae  who  spread  them- 
selves over  Italy :  the  All-Inns,  the  Van-Dalls,  and  the 
Suevi  who  took  possession  of  Spain;  the  Picts,  the 
Scots  and  the  Anglo-Saxons  who  disputed  among 
themselves  for  Great- Britain.  And  in  the  midst  of 
these  new  and  barbarous  races  stood  some  few  old 

Roman  colonies,  scattered  here  and  there a  kind 

of  columns,  long  ago  planted  by  civilization,  and  now 
astonished  to  find  themselves  standing  in  the  midst 
of  barbarism,  while  they  bore  upon  their  sides  the 
half-efiaced  names  of  the  first  possessors  of  the  world. 


PART  FIRST. 


G  A  U  I. . 


THE  CONaUERING  RACE. 


THE  FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY. 


GAUL 


THE    CONaUERING    RACE. 


The  limits  of  the  Roman  Empire  were  thus  fixed 
under  Augustus  : 

On  the  East,  the  Euphrates  ; 

On  the  South,  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile,  the  deserts 
of  Africa  and  Mount  Atlas  ; 

On  the  North,  the  Danube  and  the  Rhine ; 

On  the  West,  the  Ocean.* 

The  country,  the  shores  of  which  were  bathed  by 
this  ocean,  was  Gaul.  Caesar  achieved  its  conquest 
fifty-one  years  before  Christ,  and  converted  it  into  a 
Roman  province. 

He  found  it  divided  into  three  sections,  inhabited 
by  three  nations  differing  in  language,  institutions 
and  laws.       These  were  the   Belgae,   the   Galli  or 


♦Termini  igitur  finesque  imperii  Romanisub  Augustoerant : 
ab  Oriente,  Euphrates;  a  Meridie,  Nili  cataractse  et  deserta 
Africse  et  Mons  Atlas;  ab  Occidente,  Oceanus;  a  Septentri- 
one,  Danubius  et  Rhenus. 
3* 


30 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY, 


Celtae,  and  the  Aquitaiii.  *  The  Celtae,  placed  be- 
tween the  other  two  nations,  were  separated  from 
the  Belgae  by  the  Marne  and  the  Seine  ;  and  from 
the  Aquitani,  by  the  Garonne. 

Rome  divided  her  new  conquest  into  seventeen 
provinces  ;  f  built  fortresses  in  each  and  garrisoned 
them ;  and,  like  a  careful  mistress,  who  fears  lest 
her  handsomest  slave  inay  be  stolen  from  her,  she 
caused  a  flotilla  to  cruize  constantly  along  the  shores 
of  Britain.  | 

Constantine,  who  possessed  the  empire  in  peace, 


*  Gallia  omnis  est  divisa  in  partes  tves,  quarum  unam  iiicolunt 
Belgse,  aliam  Aquitani,  tertiam  qui  ipsorum  linguA  Celtae,  nos- 
trci  Galli,  appellantur.  Hi  omnes  lingua,  institutis,  legibus, 
inter  se  differunt.  Gallos  ab  Aquitanis  Garumna  flumen,  a 
Belgis  Matrona  et  Sequanadividit.  —  De  Bella  Gallico. 

t  They  were  divided  as  follows: 
I.  Narbonensis  prima. 


II.  Viennensis. 

III.  Narbonensis  secunda. 

IV.  Alpes  Maritimae. 
V.  Alpes  Graecce  et 

Penninee. 
VI.  Novem  populana. 
VII.  Aquitania  prima. 
■^  I.  VIII.  Aquitania  secunda. 


\{ 


L 


IX.  Lugdunensis  prima. 
X.  Lugdunensis  secunda. 
{      XI.  Lugdunensis  tertia. 
XII.  Lugdunensis  quarta. 
,  XIII.  Maxima  Sequanorum. 
XIV.  Belgica  prima. 
XV.  Belgica  secunda. 
XVI.  Germania  prima. 
XVII.  Germania  secunda. 


tProximumque  Galliae  littus  rostratce  naves  prsesidcbanl. — 
Tacitus  —  Annales. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  31 

created  for  G  aul  a  praetorian  prefect.  All  subordinate 
officers  were  responsible  to  this  prefect;  but  he  was 
accountable  to  the  Emperor  alone.  At  this  lime,  the 
Christian  religion  prevailed  in  Graul :  the  conversion 
of  the  country  is  dated  from  the  reign  of  Decius.  * 

About  the  year  A.  D.  354,  Julian  (afterward 
Emperor  of  Rome)  was  appointed  to  the  prefecture 
of  Gaul,  which  office  he  held  for  five  years.  He 
repelled  two  invasions  of  the  Franks ;  and  after  one 
of  his  campaigns  against  them,  passed  a  rigorous 
winter  at  the  Therms,  which  still  bear  his  name  in 
the  little  borough  of  Paris — styled  by  him  his  dear 
Lutetia.t 

In  the  year  451  ^tius  became  prefect.  His  task, 
however,  as  commander  of  the  provinces,  was  not  to 
repel  an  invasion  of  Franks,  but  to  oppose  an  inun- 
dation of  barbarians ;  not  to  subdue  an  obscure  leader 
of  a  tribe,  but  to  conquer  Attila  ! 

^tius,  aware  of  the  formidable  nature  of  the  dan- 
ger that  threatened  him,  omitted  nothing  in  his  power 
necessary  to  an  adequate  resistance.  In  addition  to 
his  own  legions,  collected  and  disciplined  in  Gaul, 
he  brought  to  his  standard  the  West-Goths,  the 
Burh-Gunds,  the  Celts,  the  Saxons,  the  All-Inns,  the 
Allemanni,  and,  lastly,  a  tribe  of  the  very  Franks 
who  had  formerly  been  vanquished  by  Julian,   ^tius 


*  Gregoire  de  Tours.  +  Julian  Misopogon. 


32  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

had  met  their  chief,  Mere-Wig,  *  at  Rome,  and 
learned  to  appreciate  his  prowess. 

The  two  armies  encomitered  each  other  on  the 
plains  of  Champagne,  not  far  from  Chalons  (  Cahillo- 
num.)  One  half  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  were 
now  face  to  face.  Here,  the  elements  of  a  world 
ready  to  perish ;  there,  the  elements  of  a  world  ready 
to  be  born.  The  battle  that  ensued  was  horribly 
sanguinary.  "If  we  may  believe  the  old  men,"  says 
Jornandes,  a  writer  almost  cotemporary,  "a  little 
rivulet  that  crossed  this  memorable  plain  was  sud- 
denly so  swollen,  not  with  rain  but  blood,  that  it 
became  a  rapid  torrent :  and  the  wounded  soldiers, 
parched  with  thirst,  who  dragged  themselves  to  its 
brink,  swallowed  with  avidity  the  revolting  mixture, 
which  their  own  veins  had  helped  to  pollute."  t 

Attila  was  vanquished.  But  his  first  defeat  was 
Rome's  last  victory. 


*  Mere-Wig,  in  the  Frank  language,  signifies  eminent  war- 
rior. We  are  indebted  to  Coofer  for  having  made  known  to 
us  the  names  of  the  celebrated  Indian  warriors  of  America; 
and,  but  for  Aug.  Thierry,  we  should  be  ignorant  of  the  names 
of  the  former  conquerors  of  France. 

t  Nam,  si  senioribus  credere  fas  est,  rivulus  memorati  campi 
humili  ripa  prolabens,  peremptorum  vulneribus  sanguine  multo 
provectus,  non  auctus  imbribus,  ut  solebat,  sed  liquore  concita- 
tus  insolito,  torrens  factus  est  cruoris  augmento  :  et  quos  illic 
coogit  in  aridam  sitim  vulnus  inflictum,  fluenta  mixta  clade 
traxerunt:  ita  constvicti  sorte  miserabili  sordebant,  potantes 
sanguinem  quern  fudere  sauciati. — Jornandes. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY,  33 

^tius,  having  thus  saved  Gaul,  hastened  to  Rome 
to  receive  the  reward  of  his  valor;  but  Valentinian> 
the  Emperor,  being  jealous  of  his  success,  stabbed 
him  with  his  own  hand. 

Mere-Wig  succeeded  ^Etius  in  the  government  of 
Gaul.  He  had  become  enamored  of  the  beautiful 
country,  and  made  himself  master  of  that  portion  of 
it  situated  between  the  Seine  and  the  Rhine,  making 
Paris  his  frontier  town,  and  Tournay  his  capital. 

His  usurpation  was  not  resisted  by  expiring  Rome. 
This  once  mighty  empire  had  become  powerless  to 
protect  her  original  domains  against  barbarian  inva- 
sion, and  of  course  could  afford  no  aid  to  her  subju- 
gated provinces.  At  the  same  time  that  Mere-Wig 
established  himself  in  a  corner  of  that  Gaul  which 
his  descendants  were  destined  to  conquer  through- 
out, the  Vandals  took  Carthage  and  the  West-Goths  * 
(Visigoths)  Spain.  The  Roman  Colossus  which,  in 
the  greatness  of  its  power,  seemed  to  cover  the 
w^orld,  had,  in  its  death  struggles,  contracted  itself 
into  diminutive  proportions  ;  as  the  bodies  of  giants, 
shrivelled  by  suffering,  appear,  in  dying,  never  to 
have  attained  the  ordinary  height  of  man. 

The  reign  of  Mere-Wig  is  the  first  established 
sovereignty  in  Belgic  Gaul  of  which   our  learned 


*  West-Goths  ;  so  called  from  the  position  they  occupied  in 
their  ancient  country,  north  of  the  Danube,  before  Attila  drove 
them  into  the  Roman  provinces.  —  Acg.  Thierry. 


34        THE  FRANCO-ROMAN  MONARCHY. 

modern  historians  *  find  any  sure  trace,  or  which  is 
recorded  with  entire  certainty  by  Sigebert,  Hariul- 
phus,  Roriconis  and  Fredegaire. 

Mere- Wig  was  a  notable  chief.  He  gave  his  name 
not  only  to  a  race,  but  to  a  nation ;  his  followers  having 
been  called  the  Merovingian-Franks.t  Those  who 
remained  on  the  borders  of  the  Rhine  preserved  the 
name  of  Ripe-Ware-Franks.| 

Mere-Wig  died  about  the  year  455.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Hilde-rik§,  (Childeric  I.)  a  powerful  and 
ardent  man,  as  his  name  signifies.  His  soldiers 
placed  him  on  a  buckler  supported  upon  their 
shoulders,  and  carried  him,  standing,  with  his  battle 
axe  in  his  hand,  around  the  entire  army  :  and  after 
this  ceremony,  they  proclaimed  him  their  chief. 


♦  Sisrnonde  de  Sismondi:  Aug.  Thierry:  Chateaubriand. 
If  I  gave  their  names  every  time  I  quote  from  them,  I  should  be 
obliged  to  name  them  on  every  page. 

t  Merovechus  a  quo  cognominati  sunt  Merovingi.  {Sigi- 
berti  chronica.')  It  is  evident  that  from  this  word,  latinized  by 
Sigebert,  we  have  made  Merovingians.  Two  other  authors 
corroborate  this:  Meroveus,  ob  cujus  facta  et  triumphos,  inter- 
misso  Sicambrorum  vocabulo,  Merovingi  dicti  sunt.  (Hariul- 
phi  chronica.)  Meroveus,  a  quo  Franci  Merovinci  appellati 
sunt ;  quod  quasi  communis  pater  ab  omnibus  coleretur. 

RoRicoNis,  gesta  Francorum. 

X  Men  of  the  shore.  Latin  authors  translated  this  compound 
word  by  Ripuarii. 

§  Handsome,  and  strong  in  combat. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  35 

Hilde-rik's  love  foi'  the  wife,  or  slave,  of  one  of 
his  generals  soon  led  to  a  revolt  of  the  troops,  which 
ended  in  his  being  deposed,  and  Egidius,*  general 
of  the  Roman  armies,  was  elected  to  succeed  him  : 
at  the  end  of  eight  years,  however,  Hilde-rik  was 
recalled. 

Bassina,  wife  of  the  King  of  Thuringia,  whom 
Hilde-rik,  during  his  exile,  had  seduced,  soon  fol- 
lowed him. 

"  I  have  come,"  she  said,  "  to  live  with  you.  If  I 
knew  a  greater  chief,  I  would  seek  him  at  the  ends 
of  the  earth."  Hilde-rik  was  flattered,  and  espoused 
her.     On  the  night  of  their  marriage  she  said  to  him, 

"  Arise,  and  tell  your  servant  what  you  see." 

He  approached  the  window,  and  assured  her  that 
he  saw  the  court-yard  filled  with  beasts  resembling 
lions,  leopards  and  unicorns. 

"  Look  again,"  continued  Bassina,  **  and  tell  your 
servant  what  you  see." 

He  replied  that  he  now  saw  an  assemblage  of  beasts 
resembling  bears  and  wolves. 

She  desired  him  to  look  a  third  time,  and  he 
described  the  beasts  as  of  a  still  inferior  race.  She 
then  explained  to  him  the  history  of  his  posterity, 
who,  like  the  succession  of  animals  he  had  seen, 
were  constantly  to  degenerate.     Their  son,  who  was 


*  The  Abbe  Vely  calls  him  the  Count  Giles. 


36  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

named  Hlodo-wig*  (Clovis  I.)  was,  in  courage  and 
strength,  a  lion  among  the  Frank  chiefs. 

In  fact,  the  whole  history  of  Hilde-rik's  posterity 
is  typified  in  this  apologue.  Dagoberth  I.,t  ( Dago- 
hert)  was  to  Hlodo-wig  what  the  wolf  and  bear  are 
to  the  lion ;  and  his  eight  successors,  who  were  styled 
faineans,  were  a  sort  of  inferior  animals,  sitting  on 
the  throne,  yet  in  utter  subservience  to  the  Major  or 
Mayor  of  the  palace. 

Hilde-rik  died  about  the  year  481.  He  was 
buried  in  the  city  of  Tournay  —  the  most  ancient 
capital  of  the  Merovingian  Franks  —  in  a  tomb 
which  was  accidentally  discovered  in  1653.  His 
remains  are  those  of  a  man  of  large  stature.  The 
grave  also  contained  the  skeleton  of  a  horse,  the  sym- 
bol of  courage :  the  head  of  an  ox,  symbol  of 
strength :  a  crystal  globe,  symbol  of  power :  and 
some  enamelled  bees,  symbol  of  a  rising  people. 
Near  the  body  of  the  deceased  monarch  were  tablets 
and  a  style,  that  he  might  issue  his  commands  to  the 
slaves  who  had  been  strangled  on  his  tomb :  and  a 
silver  signet  was  there  to  seal  them.     The  device 


*  Famous  warrior.  The  early  Latin  autiiors  liave  translated 
his  name  Clodovccus,  endeavoring  to  preserve  the  Germanic 
aspiration.  Gradually  this  aspiration  was  modified,  the  authors 
of  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries  writing  it  Clvdovecu^,  and, 
finally,  L/iidovicus,  root  of  the  modern  name,  Louis. 

t  Brilliant  as  day. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  37 

of  the  signet  represented  a  remarkably  handsome 
man,  with  shaven  chin,  and  long,  curling  hair,  parted 
in  the  middle  of  the  forehead  and  flowing  behind. 
And,  that  no  doubt  may  remain  as  to  the  identity  of  the 
tenant  of  the  sepulchre,  these  two  Latin  words  con- 
stituted the  inscription  on  the  seal,  Childericus  Rex.* 
Hlodo-wig,  who,  according  to  Gregory  of  Tours, 
was  the  son  of  Hilde-rik,  succeeded  hira  at  the  age 
of  twenty.  The  young  nation  and  its  chief  soon 
became  desirous  of  extending  their  dominions  ;  for 
the  fertility  of  their  soil,  the  limpidness  of  their  water 
and  the  clearness  of  their  sky,  daily  attracted  hordes 
of  immigrants  from  the  borders  of  the  Rhine  ;  and 
the  people  felt  circumscribed  in  their  limits,  as  a 
child  grows  and  stifles  in  a  bodice  originally  too 
large  for  it.  Hlodo-wig,  therefore,  passed  through 
Paris,  his  frontier-town,  and  advanced  forty-eight 
leagues  to  the  North,  where,  near  Soissons,  he 
encountered  Syagrius,  the  Roman  governor  of  Gaul,  t 

*  See  the  learned  dissertation  of  Aug.  Thierry,  who  shows 
that  the  word  rex  means  nothing  but  chief.     (Let.  V.,  page  45.) 

+  Hlodo-wig  had  a  two-fold  motive  for  prosecuting  this  war. 
Syagrius,  as  son  of  Egidius,  (Gregory  of  Tours)  might  urge 
pretensions  to  the  title  of  chief  of  the  Franks,  formerly  borne  by 
his  father;  and  which  pretensions,  he,  being  a  military  chief, 
might  support  by  arms.  Hlodo-wig,  therefore,  attacked  him 
as  the  pretender  to  his  own  title  and  as  the  representative  of  the 
Roman  power  in  Gaul.  This  explains  the  animosity  with 
which  he  pursued  his  vanquished  foe,  and  the  punishment  he 
inflicted  when  he  obtained  possession  of  his  person. 
4 


38  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

Syagrius  was  utterly  routed  and  escaped  almost 
alone  from  the  field.  He  fled  for  refuge  to  the  West- 
Goths,  who  had  now  extended  their  dominion  over 
Aquitania.  Hlodo-wig  pursued  the  fugitive,  and 
threatened  his  protector,  Alaric  II.,  with  war,  unless 
he  delivered  him  up  without  delay.  Alaric  yielded 
to  the  demand,  Syagrius  was  beheaded,  and  Rheims 
and  Soissons  opened  their  gates  to  the  conqueror. 

Hlodo-wig  was  now  desirous  to  give  permanence 
to  his  power  by  a  matrimonial  alliance  with  some 
one  of  the  neighboring  chiefs.  His  position  enabled 
him  to  select  whomsoever  he  chanced  to  prefer 
among  the  fair  daughters  of  the  land  ;  and  his  choice 
fell  upon  a  maiden  whose  name  proclaimed  her  fair- 
est of  the  fair — Hlodo-hilde*  {Clotilda,)  whose  uncle, 
Grundebald,  chief  of  the  Burh-Gunds,t  dwelt  near 
the  city  of  Geneva.  A  Roman,  slave  to  the  Frank 
chief,  was  the  messenger  who  bore  to  Hlodo-hilde 
the  intelligence  of  his  master's  decision,  and  who 
also  presented  to  her  the  golden  penny  and  the  cop- 
per denier  as  a  pledge  that  Hlodo-wig  bought  her  for 
his  bride.| 

*  Brilliant  and  noble.  Latin  authors  call  her  Chlolilda,  and 
the  French  Clotilde. 

t  Confederated  warriors.  In  Latin,  Burgundii ;  in  French, 
Bourguignons.     (In  English,  Burgv.ndians.) 

t  This  custom  is  still  preserved :  for  at  the  present  day  the 
bridegroom  sometimes  presents  to  his  bride  a  piece  of  money 
blessed  by  the  priest. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  39 

Hlodo-Hilde  was  a  Christian. 

Meanwhile,  the  Allemanni,  jealous  of  the  new 
conquests  and  increasing  power  of  the  Franks,  made 
war  upon  them.  Hlodo-wig  advanced  promptly  to 
the  proffered,  combat,  and  the  two  armies  met  at 
Tolbiac.  The  battle  was  contested,  with  great  obsti- 
nacy and  valor ;  but  was,  at  length,  won  by  Hlodo- 
wig;  who,  in  the  heat  of  the  strife,  and  when  his 
defeat  seemed  inevitable,  exchanged  the  sword  for 
the  cross.  He  called  on  the  God  of  Hlodo-hilde, 
and  embraced  the  Christian  faith.*  On  Christmas- 
day,  in  the  year  496,  St.  Remy,  archbishop  of 
Rheiras,  sprinkled  the  holy  water  on  the  chief's 
flowing  hair  ;  and  received  for  recompense  as  much 
land  as  he  could  ^oalk  around  during  the  time  that 
Hlodo-wig  should  sleep  after  dinner :  the  true  gift 
of  a  conqueror,  as  he  could  cut  short  his  nap  and  dis- 
appoint the  object  of  his  liberality,  whenever  he 
chose. 

Hlodo-wig  soon  undertook  new  conquests.  He 
marched  in  the  direction  of  Orleans  (which  the 
Romans   called  Genabum,)  crossed  the  Loire  and 


*  This  sentence  and  the  preceding  one  are  faraphrased  from 
the  context,  being  taken,  in  part,  from  another  source :  the  rela- 
tion, as  it  now  stands,  is  sufficiently  obscure  ;  yet  not  quite  so 
vague  as  the  language  of  M.  Dumas,  which  is  as  follows  ; 
"  La  victoire  est  long-temps  incertaine,  et  le  chef  des  Franks 
Mere-wigs  ne  I'obtient  qu'en  echangeant  son  epee  contre  une 
croix.     Hlodo-wig  est  vainqueur ;  Hlodo-wig  est  chretien." 


40  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

appeared  on  its  opposite  bank,  an  object  of  terror 
which  his  own  and  his  country's  renown  were  well 
calculated  to  inspire  * 

The  inhabitants  of  Bretagne,  hitherto  enslaved  by 
the  Romans,  now  changed  masters.  Hlodo-wig 
overran  their  country,  pillaged  their  houses,  devasta- 
ted their  fields,  despoiled  their  temples,  and  returned 
to  Paris,  leaving  only  what  he  could  not  carry  away 
—  the  soil.t 

He  found,  at  Paris,  the  envoys  of  Anastasius, 
Emperor  of  the  East,  commissioned  to  bestow  on 
him  the  titles  of  Patrician  and  Augustus,  and  present 
him  vsdth  the  appropriate  insignia.  Flushed  with 
this  unexpected  honor,  he  determined  to  exhibit 
himself  in  his  new  character  to  his  subjects  :  and 
accordingly,  invested  with  the  purple  and  preceded  by 
the  fasces,  he  set  forth  from  Paris,  traversed  G  aul  that 
he  vanquished,  if  not  subdued,  and  furrowed  the  land 
with  his  chariot-wheels  from  the  Rhine  to  the  Pyre- 
nees—  from  the  Ocean  to  the  Alps. 

It  was  probably  about  this  time  that  the  Frank 
sovereigns  changed  their  designation  of  royalty  from 
chief  to  hing  :  for  humble  and  fawning  Rome  now 
sent  after  them  the  purple  mantle  and  the  golden 
crown  which  they  had  forgotten  to  take  when  they 


♦  Terror  Francorum  resonabat.—  Greg,  de  Tours. 
t  Praeter  terram  solam,  quam  Barbari  secum  ferre  non  pote- 
rant. — Script,  riv.  Fiancii. 


THE    FKANCO-UOMAN    MONARCHY.  41 

wrested  the  sword  from  her  grasp.  This  was  Hlodo- 
wig's  second  baptism,  and  victory  called  him  Cassar. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  this  pro- 
gress of  the  warrior  through  the  scene  of  his  con- 
quests was  the  peaceful  and  triumphant  journey  of 
a  beloved  sovereign  through  his  loyal  domains.  The 
people  who  opened  their  gates  to  him  were  not  his 
people  :  they  were  our  fathers !  they  were  his  van- 
quished foes,  not  his  loving  subjects.  Wherever  he 
stood  in  the  midst  of  his  soldiers,  there,  and  there 
only,  he  stood  in  his  power.  For  behind  his  chariot 
and  his  army  the  people  closed  again,  like  the  waves 
which  have  been  dashed  aside  by  a  ship  on  her  course ; 
and  the  commands  that  he  uttered  as  he  passed  along 
were  lost  amid  the  threats  and  imprecations  that 
flowed  from  every  mouth,  as  soon  as  the  fear  inspired 
by  his  presence  was  dispelled  by  his  departure. 

Hence  the  conquests,  achieved  by  the  energy  and 
genius  of  Hlodo-wig,  were  lost  to  his  successors, 
when  the  sword,  with  which  he  had  hewn  his  way 
through  the  Celts,  the  Aquitani  and  the  Bretons,  fell 
into  the  feeble  hands  of  Hilde-berth*  [^Childebcrt  T.) 
and  his  posterity.  The  native  inhabitants  pressed 
closely  around  their  conquerors,  and  the  Franks  felt 
themselves  overpowered  by  their  conquests  like  the 
axe  in  the  heart  of  an  oak  which  it  has  penetrated. 


*  Bi-illiant  warrior. 
4* 


42  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

but  not  divided.  The  people  remained  unchanged  in 
all  things,  except  being  compelled  to  give  place  to  a 
foreign  tribe  which  had  forced  itself  into  their  bor- 
ders, and  taken  possession  of  a  large  portion  of  their 
territory. 

Hlodo-wig  died  in  511,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Hilde-berth  ;  and,  as  we  believe  that,  from  this  time, 
the  descendants  of  Hlodo-Avig  took  definitively  the 
title  of  King,  we  shall  hereafter  give  them  the  appel- 
lation of  King  of  the  Franks.  Ode,  or  Eudes,* 
whom  we  find  on  the  throne  in  888,  changed  the 
title  to  King  of  France. 

The  change  of  title,  however,  inferred  no  change 
of  power  or  immunity.  The  limits  of  their  author- 
ity were  not  altered  or  extended.  At  this  period 
the  army  was  composed  of  freemen,  and  the 
King  was  the  head  of  the  freemen  —  and  nothing 
more.  It  would,  therefore,  be  a  great  misapprehen- 
sion to  suppose  that  the  attributes  of  royalty,  in  this 
age  of  the  world,  corresponded  at  all  to  those  assumed 
and  enjoyed  by  Louis  XIV.  and  Napoleon.  In  the 
sixth  century,  a  king  of  the  Franks  was  content  to 
receive  a  prescribed  portion  of  the  spoils  of  victory.! 


*  Rich,  or  happy. 

+  During  this  time,  the  army  of  Hlodo-wig  pillaged  a  num- 
ber of  churches,  etc.  His  soldiers  had  taken  from  one  of  them 
a  vase  of  unusual  beauty  and  value.  The  bishop  sent  a  mes- 
senger to  Hlodo-wig,  demanding  its  restoration.  "Follow  me 
to  Soissons,"  said  the  King ;  "  it  is  there  that  we  divide  our 


THE    FRANrO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  43 

Whenever  his  soldiers  disapproved  of  an  expedition 
to  which  he  had  ordered  them,  they  were  at  liberty 
to  abandon  it.*  And  if  the  king  refused  to  accom- 
pany them  on  a  campaign  which  they  considered  ad- 
vantageous, they  constrained  him  to  go  with  them  by 
menaces,  or,  if  necessary,  by  violence.t 

Hlodo-wig  left  four  sons,  who  divided  the  territory 
occupied  by  the  Merovingian  Franks,  and  also  that 
acquired  by  their  father,  into  four  parts.  They  then 
cast  lots  for  these  parts ;  and  Paris,  Orleans,  Soissons 
and  Metz  —  the  four  most  important  tovsms  in  the 
entire  dominion  —  became  each  the  centre  of  a  quar- 
ter of  the  divided   kingdom.     Hilde-berth  obtained 


booty  :  and  when  the  vase  is  given  to  me,  I  will  do  what  the 
Pontiff  requires."  When  arrived  at  Soissons,  the  king  besought 
his  warriors  to  give  him  this  vase  in  addition  to  his  allotted 
portion.  Upon  this,  a  soldier  raised  his  battle-axe,  and,  smiting 
the  vase,  cried  out,  "  You  shall  have  no  more  of  it  than  justly 
falls  to  your  lot."  Nihil  hinc  accipies,  nisi  tibi  quae  sors  vera 
largitur. —  Greg,  de  Tours. 

*  After  this,  Hlodo-her  and  Hildc-berth  conceived  the  project 
of  marching  against  the  Burh-Gunds.  Theode-i-ik  refused  to 
accompany  them  :  but  the  Franks  assured  him  that  if  he  would 
not  join  his  brothers,  they  (the  Franks)  would  quit  him  and 
follow  them  in  his  stead.  Si  in  Burgundiam  ire  despexeris,  te 
relinquimus.  —  Ibid. 

t  Irruentes  super  eum,  ct  scindentes  tentorium  ejus,  ipsumque 
vi  detrahentes,  interficere  voluerunt,  si  cum  illis  ire  differet. 
—  Ibid. 


44  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

Paris:  Hlodo-mer,  *  {Clodomir,)  Orleans  :  Hlot-hei"f 
[Clotaire,)  Soissons:  and  Theode-rik,|  {Thierry,) 
Metz. 

This  partition  gave  rise  to  a  new  geographical  divi- 
sion. The  territory  between  the  Rhine,  the  Meuse  and 
the  Moselle  was  called  Oster-Rike,  the  Eastern  Mon- 
archy, which  the  modems  have  corrupted  into  Aus- 
trasia  :  that  portion  lying  between  the  Meuse,  the 
Loire  and  the  Ocean  was  called  Nioster-Rikc,^  the 
kingdom  of  the  West,  or  Neustria.  All  the  country 
not  comprised  in  these  divisions,  not  having  been  yet 
subjugated  by  the  Merovingian  Franks,  retained  its 
ancient  name  of  Gaul. 

Thus,  invasion  followed  its  ordinary  course  :  first, 
conquest ;  then,  division  ;  and,  lastly,  the  naming  of 
the  divided  territories. 

The  first  of  the  four  brothers  who  died  was  Hlodo- 
mer.  He  was  killed,  in  523,  at  the  battle  of  Veseronce ;  1 1 

*  Celebrated  chief. 

t  Brave  among  the  people. 

t  Celebrated  and  excellent. 

§  Literally,  no7i  est. 

II  And  having  joined  each  other  near  Veseronce,  situated  in 
the  territory  of  the  city  of  Vienna,  they  gave  battle  to  Gunde- 
mer  {peaceful  and  great.')  Gunde-mer  retired,  and  Hlodo-mer 
pursued  him.  The  latter  having  incautiously  proceeded  in  ad- 
vance of  his  troops,  the  Burh-Gunds  imitated  his  accustomed 
signal  and  cried  out  "  come  this  way ;  we  belong  to  you."  He 
was  deceived  by  the  stratagem  and  fell  in  the  midst  of  his  ene- 
mies, who  cut  off  his  head  and  carried  it  on  the  point  of  a  pike 
—  Greg,  de  Tours. 


TUE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  45 

nevertheless,  Theode-rik,  his  ally,  obtained  the  vic- 
tory over  the  Burh-Gunds,  made  himself  master  of 
their  country,  and  united  it  to  his  own.  Hlodo-mer 
left  three  sons  under  the  tutelage  of  their  grand- 
mother, Hlodo-hilde  :  — 

— "  Then  Hilde-berth,  King  of  Paris,  seeing  the 
great  affection  that  his  mother  bore  to  the  sons  of 
Hlodo-mer,  took  umbrage  at  it ;  and  fearing  that, 
through  her  influence,  she  might  be  able  to  give  them 
a  share  of  the  government,  he  sent,  seci'etly,  this 
message  to  his  brother,  the  King  Hlot-her  :  '  Our 
mother  has  with  her  the  sons  of  our  brother,  and  de- 
sires to  give  them  the  kingdom.  Come  without  delay 
to  Paris  :  and  after  we  have  consulted  together,  we 
will  decide  what  to  do  with  them  :  whether  to  cut 
off  their  hair,  like  that  of  the  people  ;  *  or  kill  them, 
and  divide  between  us  our  brother's  kingdom.' 
Hlot-her  came  to  Paris  accordingly.  Hilde-berth 
had  already  circulated  a  report  that  he  and  his  brother 
would  raise  the  orphans  to  their  father's  throne  :  and 
the  brothers  now  sent  a  messenger  to  Queen  Hlodo- 
hilde,  who  dwelt  in  the  same  city,  saying  to  her, '  Send 
us  thy  grand-children,  that  we  may  place  them  on 
the   throne.'      She,   overjoyed,   and   not   suspecting 


♦The  shaven  head  was  the  sign  of  forfeiture.  The  first 
Frank  kings  wore  the  crown  of  hair  before  they  wore  the  crown 
of  gold. 


46  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

their  intentions,  after  having  made  the  children  eat 
and  drink,  sent  them  to  their  uncles,  saying,  '  Go 
children ;  1  shall  not  think  that  I  have  lost  my  son, 
if  I  behold  you  succeeding  to  his  kingdom.'  The 
children,  being  gone,  were  immediately  seized  and 
separated  from  their  servants  and  governors,  and 
shut  up  apart ;  the  followers  on  one  side,  and  the 
children  on  the  other.  This  done,  Hilde-berth  and 
Hlot-her  sent  Arcadius  to  the  queen,  bearing  a  pair 
of  scissors  and  a  drawn  sword.  When  he  came  be- 
fore her,  he  discovered  to  her  the  scissors  and  the 
sword,  saying,  '  Thy  sons,  our  lords,  oh,  glorious 
queen  !  desire  that  thou  wilt  make  known  thy  will 
concerning  the  children.  Command  whether  their 
hair  shall  be  cut,  or  they  slain.'  Dismayed  at  these 
words,  and  moved  to  rage  at  sight  of  the  scissors  and 
the  sword,  the  queen  suffered  herself  to  be  led  away 
by  her  indignation,  and,  not  knowing  what  she  said, 
so  much  was  her  mind  bewildered  by  her  grief,  she 
imprudently  replied,  *  If  they  do  not  reign  as  their 
father,  I  would  rather  see  them  dead  than  shorn.' 
Then  Arcadius  returned  quickly  to  those  who  sent 
him,  and  said  to  them,  '  You  may  go  on  :  the  queen 
approves  of  your  beginning,  and  it  is  her  will  that 
you  accomplish  your  design.'  Hlot-her  then  imme- 
diately seized  the  eldest  child  by  the  arm,  threw  him 
on  the  ground,  and  thrusting  his  knife  in  his  body, 
under  the  arm-pit,  killed  him  cruelly.  At  his  shrieks, 
his  brother  prostrated  himself  at  the  feet  of  Hilde- 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  47 

berth,  embraced  his  knees  and  supplicated  him  with 
tears  :  '  Save  me,  my  very  good  father,  so  that  I 
die  not  as  my  brother.'  Then  Hilde-berth  moved 
to  compassion,  said  to  Hlot-her :  '  O,  I  pray  thee, 
my  very  dear  brother,  gi-ant  me  the  life  of  this  child, 
and  1  will  give  thee  whatever  thou  desirest.'  But 
Hlot-her  overwhelmed  him  with  reproaches,  and  re- 
plied, '  Shake  off  that  child  from  thee,  or  certes, 
thou  diest  in  his  place  :  for  thou  excitedst  me  to 
this  business,  and  now  thou  wilt  not  carry  it  through 
to  the  end.'  Then  Hilde-berth,  affrighted,  shook  off 
the  child,  and  threw  him  toward  Hlot-her,  who 
plunged  his  knife  in  his  side  and  killed  him  as  he 
had  done  his  brother  After  this,  they  massacred 
the  sen'ants  and  governors  ;  and  when  all  were  dead, 
Hlot-her  mounted  his  horse,  unconcerned  at  the 
murder  of  his  nephews,  and  repaired  with  Hilde- 
berth  to  the  suburbs.  The  queen,  Hlodo-hilde, 
having  placed  the  little  bodies  on  a  litter,  conducted 
them  with  many  sacred  chants  and  mighty  grief  to  the 
church  of  St.  Peter,  where  they  were  buried  together. 
One  of  them  was  ten,  and  the  other,  seven  years  old. 
The  third  son,  named  Hlodo-ald*  (Clodoald)  was 
saved  by  the  interposition  of  a  body  of  valiant  men, 
since  called  barons.  Renouncing  his  terrestrial  king- 
dom, he  cut  off  his  own  hair,  and  became  an  ecclesiastic 


*  Celebrated  and  faithful.     It  was  he  who  built  the  monastery 
of  St.  Cloud. 


48  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

and,  afterward,  a  priest.  The  two  kings  divided  be- 
tween themselves  the  kingdom  of  Hlodo-mer." 

We  have  thought  it  best  to  change  nothing  in  this 
narrative  of  Gregory  of  Tours :  it  appears  to  us  as 
simple  as  a  chapter  of  the  Bible ;  and  as  dramatic 
as  a  scene  from  Shakspeare. 

Ten  years  after  this  event,  Theode-rilc  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Theode-bert,  *  who  united  the 
kingdom  of  the  Burh-Gunds  to  that  of  Metz,  at  the 
moment  when  Hlot-her  and  Hilde-berth  were  collect- 
ing their  troops  to  despoil  him  of  his  heritage,  as  they 
had  done  the  sons  of  Hlodo-mer. 

Theode-bert  was  the  first  who  took  the  title  of 
King  of  Austrasia;  and,  by  reason  of  his  union  with 
the  Burh-Gunds,  was  able  to  bring  a  formidable  force 
into  the  field.  The  two  brothers  saw,  at  once,  the 
danger  of  their  enterprise,  and  turned  their  arms 
against  Spain,  where  they  took  Pampeluna,  Biscay, 
Aragon  and  Catalonia,  and  laid  siege  to  Saragossa. 
This  latter  city  preserved  herself  from  pillage  by 
giving  up  to  the  two  kings  the  tunic  of  the  martyr,  St. 
Vincent.  The  conquerors  returned  to  France  with 
this  precious  relic,  and  Hilde-berth  built  a  church 
near  Paris  called  St.  Croix-de-Saint- Vincent,  where 
he  deposited  the  tunic  with  great  pomp,  and  where 
it  was  guarded  with  great  devotion.!     This  church 


♦  Very  brilliant  among  the  people. 
+  Isid.  hisp.  hist.  Goih. 


THE    FRANCO-ROJIAN. MONARCHY.  49 

is  now  called  Saint-Germain-des-Pres,  the  most 
ancient  monument  of  the  Merovingians  in  our  mod- 
ern Paris. 

"While  these  events  w^ere  occurring  in  the  West, 
Justinian  was  boldly  waging  war  against  the  barba- 
rians who  had  invaded  Italy :  and  as  the  Frank 
Kings  were  becoming  daily  more  powerful,  they  were 
now  very  desirable  allies  to  the  Emperor.  He  there- 
fore sent  ambassadors  to  Theode-bert,  with  full 
authority  to  cede  to  the  Frank  his  residuary  rights 
in  Provence,  where  Aries  and  Nismes  still  held  out 
for  the  Empire.*  He  also  granted  to  him  the  right 
of  presiding,  like  the  Emperors,  at  the  games  of  the 
circus,  which  were  celebrated  in  these  towns.  He 
issued  an  edict,  ordering  that  the  gold  coined  by  the 
new  King  of  Austrasia,  and  bearing  his  image,  should 
be  current  throughout  the  empire  :  —  a  peculiar 
prerogative,  hitherto  always  denied  even  to  the  King 
of  Persia.  Theode-bert,  however,  was  not  to  be  pur- 
chased by  these  tempting  proposals.  Instead  of  form- 
ing an  alliance  with  Justinian,  he  leaarued  himself 
with  Totilla  ;  coined  gold  and  silver,  on  which  he  was 
represented  with  all  the  insignia  of  imperial  dignity,! 
and  assumed  the  title  of  Augustus.  He  then  mode 
a  league  with  the  Ost-Goths  and  the  Grecians,  pene- 


*  Procop.,  lib.  ter.,  de  Bell.  Goth, 
t  This  money  was  called,  Dominus  nosier. 
5 


50  THE   FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY'^ 

trated  by  a  series  of  victories  as  far  as  Pavia,  where 
he  collected  an  immense  booty,  and  left  Buccelin, 
his  lieutenant,  to  guard  his  conquests  which  were 
assailed  by  Belisarius.*  He  then  returned  to  Aus- 
trasia,  where  the  fall  of  a  tree  wounded  him  severely, 
and  caused  his  death.t 

Theode-bert,  who  reigned  but  thirteen  years,  well 
merited  his  sirnarae  —  Useful,  by  reason  of  the  ser- 
vices he  rendered  to  his  country.  He,  alone,  of  all 
the  kings  of  the  three  dynasties,  Merovingian,  Caro- 
lingian  and  Capetian,  received  this  name  from  the 
people.  Karl  {Charles,)  Philip  II.,  Louis  XIV.,  and 
Napoleon,  contented  themselves  with  the  title  of  Au- 
gustus,—  or,  Great. 

Theode-bald:}:  (son  of  Theode-bert)  succeeded 
to  the  throne  of  his  father,  and  died  after  a  reign 
of  seven  years.  Hilde-bert,  King  of  Paris,  soon 
followed  him  to  the  tomb;  and  Hlot-her,  King  of 
Soissons,  became  sole  master  of  Neustria  and  Austra- 
sia:  but  he  did  not  maintain  possession  of  his  domi- 
nions in  peace. 

Of  all  the  disasters  that  befell  him  —  whether  from 


♦  Gregoire  de  Tours. 

■f  /Vgath.,  lib.  prim.  Gregory  of  Tours,  nevertheless,  makes 
him  die  of  a  long  illness. — "  The  king,  Theode-bert,  began  to 
fall  sick.  The  physicians  employed  all  their  skill ;  but  it  was 
of  no  avail,  for  God  had  resolved  to  call  him  to  himself." 

X  Bold  among  others. 


THE    FnANCO-ROMA^f    MONARCHY.  51 

foreign  or  domestic  enemies — we  will  cite  only  the 
revolt  of  liis  son,  PIram.*  This  young  man  joined 
with  the  Count  de  Bretagne  against  his  father. 
Hlot-her,  in  a  single  battle,  defeated  and  dispersed 
the  Bretons,  slew  the  Count  and  made  Hram  prisoner. 
He  then  bound  him,  shut  him  up  with  his  family  in 
a  hut,  and  destroyed  the  whole  with  fire.f 

One  year  after  this,  Hlot-her  died  at  Compeigne, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battle 
with  Hram,  and  at  the  precise  hour  that  he  caused 
his  son  to  perish  in  the  flames.f 

•  During  the  latter  part  of  his  reign,  and  while  the 
Turks  were  gaining  a  footing  in  Asia,  Belisarius  and 
Narses,  Roman  generals,  reconquered  Italy,  Sicily, 
and  the  provinces  in  the  south  of  Spain. 

Hlot-her  left   four  sons ;  Hari-bert,§    {Charibcrt,) 


*  Strong  in  war. 

t  The  two  armies  had  no  sooner  come  together  than  the 
Count  de  Bretagne  turned  to  flee,  and  was  slain.  Hram  per- 
ceiving this,  fled  toward  the  sea,  where  he  had  vessels  in  readi- 
ness to  effect  his  escape  :  but  while  he  was  delayed  in  taking 
charge  of  his  wife  and  son,  he  was  overtaken  by  his  father's 
soldiers,  made  prisoner  and  bound.  When  Hlot-her  was  inform- 
ed of  this,  he  commanded  Hram  to  be  burned  with  his  wife 
and  daughters.  They  were  shut  up  in  the  hut  of  a  poor  man, 
where  Hram  v/as  extended  on  a  bench  and  strangled.  After- 
ward, the  hut  was  fired  and  he  was  consumed  with  his  wife 
and  daughters. —  Greg,  ee  Toubs. 

t  Gregoire  de  Tours. 

§  Brilliant  in  the  army. 


52  THE    FUANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

Gont-ram,*  Hilpe-rik,f  [Chilperic^  and  Sighe-bert,| 
[Sigehert.) 

Immediately  after  the  interment  of  his  father, 
Hilpe-rik  seized  the  royal  treasuiy  at  Braine,  and,  by 
flattery  and  promises  to  the  most  influential  Franks, 
induced  them  to  acknowledge  him  as  the  lawful 
sovereign  of  the  realm.  He  proceeded  rapidly  to 
Paris,  and  made  himself  master  of  that  city.  But  his 
energies  were  not  equal  to  his  ambition  :  for  his 
brothers,  uniting  together,  easily  drove  him  from  his 
conquest,  and  divided  the  kingdom  equally  between 
them.  Hari-bert  obtained  Paris ;  Gont-ram,  Orleans ; 
Hilpe-rik,  Soissons ;  and  Sighe-bert,  Rheims. 

The  short  notice  we  can  bestow  on  these  brothers 
will  be  confined,  principally,  to  Sighe-bert  and  Hilpe- 
rik.  They  espoused  two  sisters,  daughters  of  Atha- 
nagild.  King  of  the  Wesl-Goths.  The  wife  of 
Sighe-bert  was  Brune-hilde  ;  and  of  Hilpe-rik,  Gala- 
suintha. 

Two  years  afterward,  Galasuintha  was  found  dead 
in  her  bed ;  and  Frede-gunde,§  the  mistress  of 
Hilpe-rik,  was  suspected  of  having  murdered  her. 
This  suspicion  was  confirmed  when  she,  shortly 
after,  took  the  title  and  place  of  her  unfortunate 
rival. 


*  Generous  man.  t  Brilliant  conqueror, 

t  Strong  in  combat.  §  Peaceful  woman. 


THE   FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  53 

A  deadly  hatred  between  the  two  queens  now 
ensued  :  one,  excited  by  a  sister's  murder;  and  the 
other  by  a  consciousness  of  guilt,  together  with  a 
determination  to  keep  a  station  procured  by  crime. 
During  the  continuance  of  their  mutual  animosity,  it 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  anything  but  a  series  of 
assassinations  through  the  vapor  of  blood  that 
enveloped  the  two  kingdoms.  The  murderous 
blows  fell  so  rapidly,  it  was  not  easy  to  say  who 
struck  and  who  were  stricken. 

At  first,  Frede-gunde  caused  Sighe-bert,  Brune- 
hilde's  husband,  to  be  assassinated :  and  afterward, 
her  own  husband,  and  his  two  sons  by  a  former 
marriage. 

Gont-ram  was  next  slain,  leaving  his  dominions  to 
Hilde-bert  {Childc-bert  II.)  son  of  Sighe-bert. 

Hilde-bert  followed  next  in  the  death-march  ;  and 
Brune-hilde  avenged  the  murder  of  her  husband 
and  two  children  by  that  of  Theode-bert,  son  of 
Hilde-bert. 

The  only  survivor  of  the  four  sons*  of  Hilpe-rik 
and  Frede-gunde  was  Hlot-her  ( Clotaire  II.,)  who 
was  proclaimed  King  of  Soissons  at  the  age  of  four 


*  To  use  the  expression  that  their  mother  employed  in  her 
grief;  "  the  three  others  were  killed  by  the  tears  of  the  poor,  the 
groans  of  widows,  and  the  sighs  of  orphans.  Ecce  eos  lacrymaj 
pauperum,  lamenta  viduarum,  suspiria  orphanorum  interime- 
runt." 

5* 


54        THE  FRANCO-ROMAN  MONARCHY. 

months.  The  young  tiger  gave  early  proof  of  his 
maternal  lineage  by  the  assassination  of  Hilde-bert's 
descendants ;  whose  death  left  him  sole  master  of  the 
entire  monarchy.  In  613  he  mounted  the  throne — - 
the  velvet  drapery  of  which  was  the  pall  of  eight 
royal  corses.  The  first  exercise  of  his  kingly  preroga- 
tive was  the  obtaining  possession  of  Brune-hilde,  the 
old  enemy  of  his  mother  and  her  house.  He  paraded 
her  around  his  camp  on  the  back  of  a  camel ;  and 
then,  after  a  torture  of  three  days'  continuance,  he 
tied  her  to  the  tail  of  a  wild  horse  that  by  its  flight 
dashed  in  pieces,  in  presence  of  the  whole  army,  this 
widow  of  two  Kings  and  mother  of  seven  princes. 

In  1632,  the  tomb  of  Brune-hilde,  in  the  church  of 
St.  Martin,  at  Autun,  was  opened.  The  ashes  of  the 
queen  (her  body  having  been  finally  burned)  were 
found  there,  together  with  some  pieces  of  charcoal 
and  the  rowel  of  a  spur.  This  rowel,  which  at  first 
caused  some  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  remains, 
is,  to  our  apprehension,  its  most  conclusive  proof. 
"When  an  execution  took  place  like  that  by  which 
Brune-hilde  suffered,  it  was  the  custom  to  attach 
spurs  to  the  horse's  flanks :  one  of  these  spurs  may 
easily  have  become  entangled  in  the  clothes,  or 
broken  off"  in  the  flesh  of  the  criminal ;  and,  the  body 
and  clothes  being  subsequently  consumed  and  buried 
together,  this  rowel  was  very  naturally  found  in  the 
ashes  of  the  tomb. 


THE   FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  55 

This  execution  took  place  in  614,  as  is  proved  by 
the  epitaph  on  the  monument ; 

"  Brune-cheul  fut  jadis  royne  de  France, 
Fondateresse  du  lieu  de  ceans ; 
Cy  inhiimee  en  six  cent  quatorze  ans, 
En  attendant  de  Dieu  vraie  indulgence."* 

France  is  indebted  to  Brune-hilde  for  its  first 
great  roads ;  and  some  causeways  in  Burgundy  and 
Picardy  still  bear  her  name. 

Hlot-her  II.  had,  then,  become  sole  master  of  the 
kingdom :  but  the  leaders  of  the  army,  taking 
advantage  of  the  disturbed  state  of  affairs  that  fol- 
lowed the  death  of  Hlodo-wig,  had  managed  to 
secure  to  themselves  a  considerable  jaortion  of  the 
sovereign  power.  This  encroachment  was  promptly 
perceived  by  the  nobles  ;  who,  jealous  of  the  increa- 
sing strength  of  the  generals,  began  now  to  contend 
with  them  for  a  share  of  the  usurped  authority. 
This  incipient  germ  of  the  feudal  system  first  made 
itself  known  in  Austrasia.  t  Hlot-her  conceded  to 
his  chiefs  life-benefices  and  the  privilege  of  a  free 
election  of  their  mayors  :  and  with  Waniaher,  |  the 

*  Brune-hilde  was  erst  of  France  the  queen, 
And  eke  was  foundress  of  this  place; 
Was  buried  here  in  six-fourteen.  (614) 
And  here  awaits  God's  pardoning  grace, 
t  That  is,  the  feudal  system  of  the  conquest,  which  must  not 
be  confounded  with  the  national  feudal  system. 
t  Eminent  for  protection. 


56  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

first  who  was  chosen  by  them,  commenced  that 
principle  of  aristocratic  election  which,  one  hundred 
and  sixty  years  later,  was  destined  to  overthrow  and 
supersede  the  royal  dynasty. 

Hlot-her  died  in  628.  He  left  a  code  of  laws  that 
were  generally  approved. 

Before  discussing  the  progress  of  his  successor, 
Dagobert  I.,  we  will  direct  our  attention  toward  the 
East,  and  to  an  event  deeply  affecting  the  interests  of 
the  world. 

On  the  tenth  of  September,  570,  near  the  confines 
of  Arabia  Petraea,  in  the  city  of  Mecca,  and  in  the 
bosom  of  the  tribe  of  the  Koreishites,  a  child  was 
born;  whose  ancestors  for  five  generations  held  the 
sovereignty  of  that  city.  Death  deprived  him  of  his 
father  in  the  second  month,  and  of  his  mother  in  the 
sixth  year  of  his  age.  The  orphan  was  educated  by 
his  uncle,  Abou-Thaleb,  and  he  chose  commerce  for 
his  profession.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  went  into 
Syria.  At  eighteen,  the  propriety  of  his  conduct,  the 
frankness  of  his  words,  and  the  conformity  of  his 
actions  to  his  words,  gained  for  him  the  name  of 
Al-Amin,  —  the  Faithful.  At  forty,  having  studied 
the  religious  dogmas  of  the  various  countries  through 
which  he  had  travelled,  he  carefully  estimated  his 
own  and  their  relative  positions. 

He  saw  the  Arabs  divided  into  rival  tribes ;  some 
professing  idolatry,  and  some,  a  corrupted  Judaism  i 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  57 

while  the  eastern  Christians,  composed  of  nuaiber- 
less  sects,  were  persecuting  one  another  with  fury. 

He,  alone,  in  the  midst  of  this  distracted  and 
ignorant  people,  being  endowed  with  a  felicitous 
memory,  a  lively  eloquence,  great  presence  of  mind, 
a  robust  constitution,  and  indomitable  courage,  felt 
his  own  superiority ;  perceived  that  the  earth  was 
ready  for  the  seed  ;  and  believed  that  he,  like  Jesus, 
the  son  of  Mary,  might  be  called  to  preach  the  tenets 
of  a  new  religion.  He  soon  presented  himself  to  the 
people  as  the  Apostle  of  God  ;  and,  as  is  usual  with 
the  founders  of  new  sects,  he  commenced  his  career 
against  the  opposing  influences  of  incredulity  and 
persecution.  Denounced  as  a  false  prophet  by  the 
Koreishites,  he  was  forced  to  fly  from  Mecca,  a 
proscribed  fugitive  :  and  from  this  flight,  which  cor- 
responds in  date  to  our  16th  of  July,  622,  begins  — 
under  the  name  of  the  Hegira,  (or  flight)  —  a  third 
era  of  the  world. 

He  found  a  refuge  at  Medina,  where  his  disciples 
followed  and  rejoined  him.  He  now  collected  an 
army,  placed  himself  at  its  head,  and,  sword  in  hand, 
cut  his  way  to  the  city  that  had  banished  him.  On 
the  12th  of  January,  630,  he  entered  Mecca  in  the 
joint  capacity  of  conqueror  and  prophet,  in  his  six- 
tieth year.  He  repaired  to  the  temple  and  caused 
its  three  hundred  and  sixty  idols  to  be  cast  down,  not 
even  sparing  the  statues  of  his  ancestors,  Abraham 
and  Ishmael.     And,  in  order  to  the  complete  purifi- 


58  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

cation  of  the  holy  place,  he  turned  himself,  succes- 
sively, toward  the  East,  the  South,  the  West  and  the 
North  —  at  each  pause  crossing  his  arms  upon  his 
breast,  exclaiming  "  Allah  ak-Bar,"  God  is  great. 
Two  years  afterward,  full  of  honors ;  sole  prophet 
of  a  religion  which  now  sways  half  the  ancient 
hemisphere;  founder  of  an  Empire  which,  aggran- 
dized by  his  successors,  embraced,  within  the  period 
of  ninety  years,  more  territory  than  the  Romans  in 
eight  centuries  had  subdued  ;  —  he  died  at  Medina, 
on  the  Sth  of  January,  A.  D.  632,  and  for  three  entire 
days  the  chiefs  of  the  tribes  he  had  conquered 
watched  around  his  corse,  unable  to  believe  that  he 
who  had  accomplished  such  mighty  deeds  was  mortal, 
like  themselves. 

This  individual  —  an  orphan  in  his  childhood; 
an  outlaw  in  his  manhood  ;  a  conqueror  in  his  age 
—  was  Mahomet  the  Prophet,  whom  they  of  the 
East  style  Mohammed-Aboul-Cassem. 

And  now,  awaiting  the  period  when  his  race,  find- 
inff  themselves  too  much  circumscribed  in  Asia  and 
Africa,  appeared  on  the  summit  of  the  Pyrenees,  we 
resume  the  history  of  France. 

In  the  month  of  November,  628;  Dagobert  was 
proclaimed  King  by  the  Frank  chiefs.  He  took  the 
throne  by  means  of  successful  intrigue  and  not  by 
right  of  birth— he  having  excluded  his  brother 
fiom  an  equal  division  of  the  kingdom.  "  Neverthe- 
less, he  afterward  ceded  to  hira,  as  a  sort  of  apa- 


THE    FRANCO-nOMAN    MONARCHY.  59 

nage,  the  territory  of  Toulouse,  Quercy,  Agenois, 
Perigord,  and  Saintonge,  to  which,  also,  he  subse- 
quently united  Gascony,  sufFering  him  to  style  himself 
King  of  Toulouse.  Dagobert  espoused  three  wives  ; 
Gomatrude,  Nante-hilde  and  Rague-trude;  and  from 
this  time  the  extravagances  and  disorders  of  his 
reign  began.  He  made  the  tour  of  his  kingdom 
accompanied  by  his  leudes,  *  invested  with  his  royal 
robes  and  followed  by  his  three  wives  —  to  whose 
train  was  attached  such  a  number  of  their  husband's 
concubines,  that  Fredegaire  declares  he  could  not 
count  them.  Saint-Eloi,  whose  popular  song  Fame 
has  rendered  so  familiar,  arrived  at  his  court  a  simple 
goldsmith,  but  was  soon  enriched  with  girdles  of 
precious  stones. t  He  first  made  for  Dagobert  an 
arm-chair  of  massive  gold ;  and,  subsequently,  a 
throne  of  the  same  metal,  on  which  the  King  sate  in 
629,  when  he  presided  over  a  general  assembly  of 
lords. 

From  this  period,  the  power  of  the  mayors  (which 
sprang  up  by  the  side  of  the  royal  power)  began  to 
be  perceived  and  felt  in  the  person  of  Peppin-de- 
Landen — called,  by  some  historians,  Peppin-the-Old, 


*  Leudes,  or  fiiithful:  a  body-guard  created  by  the  Frank 
Kings.  The  lands  ceded  to  them  by  the  rnonarchs,  in  recom- 
pense of  their  services,  made  them  at  first  lords,  and  afterward 
grand  vassals. 

+  Vita  sancti  Eligii. 


60  THE    FRANCO-UOMAN    MONARCHY. 

because  he  was  the  ancestor  of  a  mighty  race.  Owing 
to  the  concession  of  the  free  election,  imprudently 
granted  to  the  nobles  by  Hlot-her  II.,  the  mayors  had 
already  ceased  to  be  the  King's  men,  and  had  become 
the  supporters  of  the  nobles.  Under  the  succeeding 
reigns,  we  shall  see  a  furious  contest  established 
between  these  two  rival  powers,  which  terminated 
fatally  to  the  Merovingian  Kings. 

Dagobert  died  in  638,  after  a  reign  of  sixteen 
years.  He  was  buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Denis  ^ 
and  a  monument  was  there  erected  to  his  memory. 
He  was  the  first  of  the  Frank  Kings  who  received 
the  honors  of  canonization  already  accorded  to  queen 
Hlodo-hilde.  His  disorderly  and  dissolute  life  seems 
to  furnish  a  singular  pretext  for  his  being  sainted  after 
death.  But  the  following  very  sensible  story  accounts 
for  the  sage  proceeding. 

Audo-ald,*  bishop  of  Poictiers,  having  been  sent 
by  the  King  into  Sicily,  visited  there  a  holy  and 
venerated  anchorite  who  lived  in  a  hermitage  on  the 
sea-shore.  The  hermit  informed  the  prelate  of  the 
King's  death  in  the  following  tenns,  as  related  by 
Gaguin  : 

"  In  the  midst  of  my  slumbers,  last  night,  an  old 
man  with  a  long  beard  awakened  me  and  bade  me 
pray  for  the  soul  of  Dagobert.  I  arose  to  obey  ; 
when,  from  my  window,  I  saw  over  the  middle  of  the 

•  Firm  and  faithful. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  61 

sea  a  company  of  devils  who,  with  great  triumph, 
were  transporting  to  hell  the  soul  of  the  defunct 
King.  The  unhappy  spirit,  grievously  tormented, 
screamed  loudly  for  aid  to  the  martyrs  St.  Martin, 
St.  Maurice  and  St.  Denis.  These  saints,  thus  invo- 
ked, descended  from  heaven  in  the  inidst  of  lightnings 
and  tempests,  and  delivered  the  King's  soul,  which 
they  bore  away,  singing  the  song  of  David:  'Blessed 
is  the  man  whom  Thou  choosest.'  " 

On  his  return,  Audo-ald  related  the  marvellous 
story  :  and  ever  afterward  Dagobert  was  venerated 
as  a  saint. 

The  entire  story  is  inscribed  in  marble  on  the 
King's  tomb  :  the  combat  of  the  saints  and  demons 
is  represented  in  detail,  and  the  three  conquerors 
hold  a  sheet  on  which  they  aie  bearing  the  soul  of 
Dagobert  to  Paradise.  The  fine  female  figure  weep- 
ing over  the  tomb,  is  a  statue  of  the  queen,  Nante- 
hilde.  * 

Hlodo-wig  II.  and  Sighe-bert  II.  succeeded  their 
'father  and  divided  anew  the  Frank  kingdom. 
Hlodo-wig  took  the  title  of  King  of  Neustria  and 
Burgundy  :  and  Sighe-bert,  King  of  Austrasia. 

Peppin-de-Landen's  first  act  of  authority  was  an 
act  of  justice.  He  sent  ambassadors  to  Hlodo-wio-, 
demanding  a  proper  di\'ision  of  Dagobert's  treasures. 


*  Beautiful  as  Nauda.     Nauda  is  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Odin. 

6 


62  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY. 

Hlodo-wig  assented  and  sent  Egue,*  mayor  of  the 
palace  of  Neustria,  to  Compeigne,  where  the  gold 
and  jewels  were  equally  divided  between  the  two 
Kings  and  their  mother,  Nante-hilde. 

Peppin-de-Landen  died,  and  his  son,  Grimo-ald 
succeeded  him.  Egue  died  a  short  time  afterward 
and  was  succeeded  by  Erchino-ald.  t 

With  Hlodo-wig  II.  and  Sighe-bert  II.  commences 
the  list  of  feeble  Kings  :  the  power  of  royalty  soon 
followed  its  attributes  and  passed  from  the  monarchs 
to  the  mayors  of  the  palace.  The  blood  of  Hlodo- 
wig  cooled  in  the  heart  of  his  sons  ;  and  the  descend- 
ants of  the  early  Frank  chieftains  speedily  fell  from 
the  buckler  of  Kings,  their  first  throne,  to  the  ox- 
drawn  chariots  of  queens,  their  first  tomb. 

Sighe-bert  died  at  Metz,  in  654,  leaving  one  son, 
whom  Grimo-ald  |  (mayor  of  the  palace)  kidnapped 
and  sent  into  Scotland.  Grimo-ald  spread  abroad 
the  report  of  his  death  and  caused  funeral  honors  to  be 
paid  to  him  on  a  magnificent  scale.  He  then  substi- 
tuted his  own  son  in  the  place  of  the  exiled  prince, 
and  proclaimed  him  King  of  Austrasia  with  the  title 
of  Hilde-bert  II.  But  he  was  scarcely  seated  on  the 
throne,  when  a  general  revolt  of  the  Austrasian 
Franks  swept  him  from  power;  and  all  traces  of 
Grimo-ald  and  his  son  were  obliterated  in  the  revolu- 
tionary tempest  evoked  by  their  usurpation. 

♦  Subtle.  t  Firm  in  sincerity.  t  Firm  in  ferocity. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY.  bJ 

But  the  race  of  Peppin  was  not  lost  in  the  wreck. 
There  yet  remained,  in  the  maternal  line,  a  child 
called  Peppin  of  Heristal,  who  was  to  be  the  father  of 
Karl-le-Martel,  grandfather  of  Peppin-le-Bref,  and 
great-great-grandfather  of  Karl-le-Grand,  {Charle- 
magne.) After  the  fall  of  Grimo-ald  and  his  son, 
Hlodo-wig  11.  united,  for  the  foui'th  time,  Neustria 
and  Austrasia  under  one  kingdom.  But  he  died  in 
657  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-one. 

Contemporary  authors  accuse  this  prince  of  a 
double  sacrilege.  First,  he  is  charged  with  having 
taken  the  gold  and  silver  plates  which  covered  the 
tomb  of  St.  Denis,  to  purchase  food  for  the  poor 
during  a  season  of  great  distress  ;  and,  secondly, 
with  having  broken  an  arm  from  the  statue  of  the 
same  Saint  and  placed  it  in  his  oratory  for  the  benefit 
of  his  private  devotions  —  though  at  the  manifest  risk 
of  detracting,  by  such  mutilation,  from  the  homage 
which  the  faithful  were  wont  to  pay  to  the  patron 
saint  of  France. 

Hlot-her  III.,  his  son,  succeeded  him  as  King  of 
Burgundy  and  Neustria.  Ebroin,  mayor  of  the 
palace,  compelled  Batilda,  the  child's  mother,  to 
surrender  to  him  its  tutelage  ;  and  he  soon  possessed 
himself  of  the  supreme  authority.  The  Austrasian 
Franks  refused  allegiance  to  the  Neustrian  Franks, 
and  demanded  an  independent  King.  Batilda  gave 
them  her  second  son,  Hilde-rik.  Shortly  after  he 
ascended  the  throne,  his  brother,  Hlot-her,  died  in 


64  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

670,  having  reigned  but  four  years.  Ebroin  appointed 
Tlieode-rik  (Batilda's  third  son)  to  succeed  Hlot-her ; 
but  as  he  neglected  to  consult  the  nobles  —  who  had 
always  maintained  their  right  of  election  —  they 
annulled  the  appointment;  and,  seizing  on  the 
King  and  his  minister,  sent  them  to  Hilde-rik,  who 
caused  them  both  to  be  shorn.  He  compelled 
Ebi'oin  to  become  a  monk  of  the  Abbey  of  Luxeuil ; 
but,  more  lenient  toward  his  own  brother,  he  inquired 
what  he  wished  to  have  ] 

"A  cell,  and  time  for  my  hair  to  grow,"  replied 
Theode-rik, 

And,  three  years  afterward,  he  re-appeared,  his 
forehead  bound  with  the  double  crown  of  the  Kings 
of  the  first  race. 

During  the  interval  preceding  his  re-appearance, 
Hilde-rik  found  himself,  for  a  short  time,  King  of  the 
entire  monarchy.  But,  having  punished  with  impru- 
dent severity  a  lord  named  Bodillon, — -by  causing 
him  to  be  tied  to  a  stake  and  scourged  with  rods  — 
the  enraged  noble  collected  a  company  of  mal-con- 
tents,  surrounded  the  palace,  burst  open  the  gates 
and  doors,  and  with  his  own  hand  slew  Hilde-rik,  his 
wife  Bili-hilde  then  near  her  confinement,  and  Dago- 
bert  their  eldest  son.*  The  second  son  escaped 
the  fury  of  the  assassins,  and  in  jDrocess  of  time  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne,  with  the  title  of  Hilpe-rik  11. 

♦  Frcdegaire. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  65 

HilJe-rik,  with  his  wife  and  son,  were  buried  at 
St.  Germain-des-Pres.  Toward  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  some  workmen,  while  repairing  the  church, 
discovered  two  tombs :  the  one  of  a  man,  the  other 
of  a  woman.  By  the  side  of  the  bones  of  the  man 
were  the  remains  of  royal  ornaments,  a  crown  of  gold 
and  an  inscription  bearing  these  words:  Ch'ddcricus, 
Rex.  In  the  tomb  of  the  female  was  found  a  little 
coffin,  enclosing  the  body  of  a  child.  The  identity  of 
the  one  is  certified  by  that  of  the  other.  A  royal 
family  —  foully  assassinated  —  had  slept  for  ten 
centm'ies  in  these  unknown  tombs. 

On  the  death  of  Hilpe-rik,  by  a  singular  caprice 
of  fortune,  Theode-rik,  whom  we  left  shut  up  in  a 
cloister  at  St.  Denis,  and  Dagobert,  who  was  driven 
into  exile  in  Scotland  by  Grimo-ald,  re-appeared 
simultaneously:  and  each  took  the  crown  to  which 
he  was  entitled  by  inheritance. 

After  a  reign  of  some  years,  Dagobert  was  slain 
in  an  insurrection ;  and  Theode-rik,  on  learning  the 
intelligence,  immediately  sought  to  re-unite  Austra- 
sia  to  Neustria.  But  the  Austrasian  nobles  had 
already  elected  Peppin  Heristal  mayor,  and  Duke  of 
the  kingdom ;  and  Peppin,  in  the  name  of  Austrasia, 
proclaimed  that  this  portion  of  the  Frank  territory 
would  not  submit  to  Theode-rik.  The  latter,  to 
enforce  his  wishes,  assembled  an  army  and  marched 
against  Peppin.  The  hostile  forces  met  at  Testu,  a 
small  village  between  St.  Quentin  and  Peronne. 
6* 


66  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY. 

Theode-rik  was  totally  routed  in  the  battle  that 
ensued.  He  fled  to  Paris,  but  was  pursued  by 
Peppin,  who  took  the  capital,  seized  on  the  royal 
treasury  and  made  Theode-rik  prisoner.  He  after- 
ward proposed  to  set  him  at  liberty,  on  condition  that 
he  would  appoint  him  mayor  of  the  palace  of  Neus- 
tria.  Theode-rik  yielded  to  the  necessity ;  and 
Peppin  found  himself  mayor  and  Duke  of  both  king- 
doms, and  King  in  fact  of  one  of  them. 

After  a  reign  of  nine  years  —  half  of  which  passed 
under  the  dictation  of  Peppin  —  Theode-rik  died  in 
691. 

Peppin  now  cast  an  eye  over  the  degenerated  race, 
to  choose  a  King  under  whose  name  he  would 
govern  the  realm.  He  selected  Hlodo-wig  IH.,* 
who  appeared  on  the  throne  of  Neustria  like  a  pass- 
ing phantom  ;  for  he  soon  died,  and  so  entirely 
obscured  is  he  by  the  shadow  of  Peppin,  that  no  writer 
has  apprized  us  of  the  time  of  his  death  or  the  place 
of  his  interment. 

It  was  during  this  reign  that  pens  were  first  used 
in  writing. 

A  King  aged  eleven  years  now  succeeded  to  one 
who  died  at  fifteen.  Hilde-bert  IH.  reigned  sixteen 
years ;    his  court  all  the  time  consisting  of  a  few 


♦  The  Franks  elected  his  son,  Hlodo-wig,  who  was  yet  a  child. 
Franci  filium  Theodorici  parvulum  regem  elegerunt.  {Pre-' 
mier  conlinuateur  de  Fredegaire.) 


THE   FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  67 

domestics,  who  were  rather  spies  than  servants. 
Peppin,  on  the  contrary,  was  surrounded  by  the  high- 
est officers.  He  had  a  count  of  the  palace ;  a  grand 
referendary,  and  a  steward  of  his  houses ;  and  he  took 
to  himself  wives  and  concubines  after  the  manner  of 
Kings.  One  of  his  wives  bore  him  Grimo-ald  ;  and 
one  of  his  concubines,  I\.ail*  (Charles) — subsequently 
known  as  Karl-le-Martel  {Charles  Martel.) 

Hilde-bert  died  in  711. 

Dagobert  III.  was,  in  turn,  shown  to  the  nobles, 
elected  by  them,  and  immediately  shut  up  in  a  villa, 
whence  neither  he  nor  his  wishes  ever  appeared, 
The  spirit  of  Peppin  continued  to  animate  the  great 
monarchical  body  until  the  year  714,  when  he  was 
attacked  by  a  disease  that  terminated  his  life  at 
Jupil,  one  of  his  country-seats,  on  the  Mouse, 
opposite  to  his  chateau  of  Heristal. 

His  son,  Grimo-ald,  was  assassinated  while  on  his 
way  to  Jupil ;  and  Peppin,  with  his  dying  breath, 
nominated  his  grandson,  Theode-bald,  to  succeed 
him  as  mayor  of  the  palace  —  thus  disavowing  the 
genius  of  Karl-le-Martel,  and  placing  a  King  sixteen 
years  old  under  the  authority  of  a  child  of  eight. 
Plectrude,  Theode-bald 's  grandmother,  conducted 
the  affairs  of  government  in  his  name  ;  and,  to  pre- 
.  vent  any  interference  on  the  part  of  Karl,  she  detain- 
ed him  a  prisoner  at  Cologne. 

*  Vieorous  man. 


68  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

After  a  time,  the  lords  of  Neustria,  impatient  at 
seeing  a  woman  invested  with  the  royal  prerogative, 
incited  Dagobert  to  depose  her  ;  which  he,  nothing 
loth,  prepared  to  do.  He  placed  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  discontented  nobles  and  such  an  army  as  they 
could  hastily  collect ;  and,  encountering  Plectrude 
in  the  forest  of  Compeigne,  he  totally  defeated  her 
forces  and  deprived  her  of  the  sovereign  power. 
Meanwhile,  Karl  improved  the  opportunity  to  escape 
from  prison,  and  Austrasia  received  him  with  open 
arms  ;  while  Dagobert,  scarcely  rid  of  Theode-bald, 
appointed  another  mayor  of  the  palace,  and  passed 
from  the  bondage  in  which  he  was  held  by  Plectrude, 
into  submission  to  Rainfroy. 

However,  the  fatal  hand  which  was  so  rapidly 
hastening  the  downfall  of  the  first  race  of  Kings, 
was  not  tardy  in  seizing  on  Dagobert,  He  died 
at  seventeen  :  so  that  the  united  ages  of  the  last 
three  princes  did  not  equal  the  ordinary  duration  of 
one  human  life.  What  was  the  malign  influence 
that  so  early  blasted  these  royal  shoots  1  No  one 
can  say  :  for  the  power  of  the  mayors  at  this  period 
was  so  great,  that  no  contemporary  historian  has  ven- 
tui'ed  explicitly  to  declare  whom  they  destroyed  and 
whom  they  suffered  to  live. 

Rainfroy  found  the  son  of  Dagobert  too  young  to 
wear  a  crown.  And  the  child  who  escaped,  as  we 
have  seen,  from  the  blows  that  felled  Hilde-rik  with 
his  wife  and  son,  discovered  one  morning  in  hia 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  69 

cloister  that  his  priestly  garments  had  been  exchanged 
for  royal  robes  :  and,  after  he  an'ayed  himself  in 
them,  all  whom  he  met  knelt  to  him  and  saluted  him 
as  Hilpe-rik  II. 

The  short  but  energetic  reign  of  this  prince  shines 
out  in  the  history  of  the  period  like  a  single  star  in 
a  gloomy  firmament.  His  mind  had  been  tempered, 
sobered  and  elevated  by  thirty-six  years  of  medita- 
tion and  misfortune  in  the  solitude  of  a  cloister ;  and 
Rainfroy,  who,  in  elevating  him  to  the  throne,  had 
counted  on  finding  him  a  pliant  tool,  soon  discovered 
that  he  had  placed  over  himself  a  master  not  to  be  con- 
trolled. Hilpe-rik  II.  was  a  true  Frank  chief,  and 
Rainfroy  was  his  lieutenant.  The  King  designed 
the  measures  of  his  government,  and  the  mayor,  as 
his  agent,  executed  them. 

Hilpe-rik's  first  step  was  an  alliance  with  the 
Duke  of  Frisons.  A  monk,  formerly  content  with 
the  narrow  boundaries  of  a  single  cell,  now  found 
the  whole  of  Neustria  and  Burgundy  too  limited  a 
sphere  for  his  ambition,  and  he  determined  to  add 
Austrasia  to  his  dominions.  Radbode,  chief  of  the 
Frisons,  marched  to  effect  a  junction  with  Hilpe-rik  ; 
but  Karl,  well  knowing  the  consequences  of  their 
acting  together,  threw  his  army  across  the  path  of 
Radbode,  in  the  hope  of  terminating  the  campaign 
by  a  single  battle.  But  his  plan  was  foiled,  and  he 
sustained  a  signal  defeat.  Karl,  the  hero;  Karl,  who 
was  yet  to  be  called  le  Martel,  (the  hammer,)  was 
conquered.     His  first  engagement  was  a  defeat,  an 


70  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

Utter  rout ;  but  it  was  also  his  last  defeat.  He 
escaped  into  the  forest  of  Ardennes  with  the  wreck 
of  his  army,  consisting  of  some  five  hundred  men. 

All  obstacles  to  the  invasion  of  Austrasia  being 
thus  summarily  removed,  the  Neustrians  and  Prisons 
now  united  their  forces,  ravaged  the  country,  and 
laid  siege  to  Cologne.  But  Plectrude,  by  a  timely 
offer  of  money,  prevailed  on  them  to  raise  the 
sieare,  and  grant  a  cessation  of  hostilities.  The 
Duke  of  Prisons  returned  to  his  own  dominions 
unmolested;  but  the  homeward  march  ofHilpe-rik 
lay  through  the  forest  of  Ardennes. 

Karl,  who  had  fled  to  this  place  for  refuge,  now 
learned  from  his  scouts  that,  by  means  of  a  well- 
planned  ambush,  he  could  render  it  a  scene  of  victory; 
and  he  made  his  dispositions  accordingly.  Hilpe- 
rik,  unconscious  of  the  snare  that  was  spread  for 
him,  established  his  camp  at  Amblef,  and  the  army, 
with  scarcely  any  precautions  against  an  attack, 
retired  to  rest.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  Karl 
divided  his  men  into  select  bands,  attacked  the  sleep- 
ing soldiers  at  various  points,  and  broke  and  dis- 
persed them  so  entirely  that  Hilpe-rik  and  Rainfroy 
had  great  difficulty  in  escaping  with  their  lives. 

This  victory,  as  it  may  well  be  supposed,  brought 
masses  of  troops  to  Karl's  standard ;  and  although 
Hilpe-rik  with  prodigious  energy  raised  another 
army,  and  in  two  successive  battles  sought  to  regain 
the  supremacy,  he  was  completely  defeated  and 
driven  into  Aquitania.     Karl  marched  directly   to 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  71 

Paris,  and  the  gates  of  the  city  were  thrown  open  at 
his  approach. 

From  this  time  Karl  was  in  reality  King,  though 
Hilpe-rik  retained  the  title  of  royalty  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  in  720,  at  Noyon.  Karl  now  sought 
the  son  of  Dagobert  III.,  in  the  Abbey  of  Chelles, 
where  he  had  been  entirely  forgotten,  and  placed 
him  on  the  throne  with  the  title  of  Theode-rik  III.  or 
Theode-rik-de-Chelles :  he  was  at  this  time  eight 
years  old. 

The  reign  of  this  child  is  known  or  distinguished 
only  by  the  fact  of  being  contemporaneous  with  the 
victories  of  Karl.  This  warrior,  within  a  compara- 
tively short  time,  conquered  the  Saixons  and  drove 
them  beyond  the  Weser ;  defeated  the  Germans  and 
forced  them  across  the  Danube ;  routed  the  Bava- 
rians, v/ho  had  unexpectedly  taken  up  arms  against 
him;  and  thrice  vanquished  the  Duke  of  Aquitania, 
who  had  excited  that  province  to  revolt.  And 
scarcely  had  he  sheathed  his  sword  after  these  vari- 
ous victoi'ies,  when  a  cry  of  great  distress  arose  from 
the  south  of  France. 

The  count  Julian,  to  revenge  himself  on  King 
Roderick,  who  had  dishonored  his  daughter,  invited 
the  Saracens*  into  Spain  ;  and,  in  the  first  battle  that 


*  The  author  of  the  continuation  of  Fredcgaire  preserves 
their  ancient  name,  calling  them  Ishmaelites. 


72  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

ensued,  Roderick  lost  his  life  and  kingdom.  The 
stranger-troops,  having  accomplished  the  object  of 
their  visit,  tiow  turned  their  attention  and  their  arms 
tow^ard  France. 

Suddenly,  there  appeared  to  the  Franks,  on  the 
summit  of  the  Pyrenees,  an  unknown  banner,  and  an 
innumerable  army  curiously  habited  and  uttering 
war-cries  in  an  incomprehensible  language.  This 
army  descended  like  a  torrent  into  Languedoc,  then 
held  by  the  West-Goths  of  Gaul ;  seized  upon  Aries, 
Rodez,  and  Castres;  crossed  the  Garonne;  took 
Bordeaux ;  and,  finally,  burnt  the  church  of  St. 
Hilary,  which  was  held  in  universal  veneration.* 

But  the  flames,  thus  ruthlessly  kindled  by  the 
Saracens,  proved  signal-fires  to  the  inhabitants  — 
warning  them  to  resist  the  invaders,  and  directing 
Karl  where  to  concentrate  his  forces  against  them. 
He  met  them  between  Tours  and  Poictiers,  having 
under  his  command  the  united  armies  of  Neustria 
and  Austrasia.t 

The  battle  continued  for  one  entire  day,  and  Karl 
enacted  prodigies  of  valor.  He  slew  great  numbers 
with  his  own  hand  and  at  last  struck  down  Abd-al- 


*  After  having  delivered  to  the  flames  the  basilick  of  St. 
Hilaire  —  doleful  thing  to  relate —  they  prepared  to  march  and 
destroy  that  of  St.  Martin  de  Tours.  —  Second  continuation  of 
Fr6d6gaire. 

t  In  732. 


THE   FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  73 

Rahhman.  *  On  the  death  of  their  general,  the 
Saracens  fled  in  every  direction,  abandoning  their 
camp  and  leaving  boliind  them  an  immense  booty,  t 

From  this  day,  Karl  v^^as  sirnamed  le  Martel, 
because  he  had,  as  with  a  mallet,  crushed  the  inva- 
ders. 

Thus,  an  infidel  host  wras  invited  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  Europe  because  a  petty  Visigothian  King 
had  violated  some  insignificant  Lucretia :  and,  as  a 
sequel,  the  continent  might  have  become  Moham- 
medan, had  not  the  son  of  a  concubine  appeared  for 
the  rescue  of  Christendom. 

We  can  now  scarcely  follow  Karl  through  his 
various  combats  and  rapidly  succeeding  victories. 
Burgundy  refused  to  acknowledge  his  authority  and 
was  promptly  reduced  to  submission.  Papou,  Duke 
of  Frisons,  revolted;  but  he  was  defeated  and  slain, 
and  with  him  perished  the  race  of  the  Frison  Dukes. 
Karl  overthrew  their  idols,  demolished  their  temples, 
burned  their  cities,  and  cut  down  their  sacred  groves. 
The  duke  of  Aquitania  having  withdrawn  his  oath  of 
allegiance  to  Neustria,  Karl  immediately  invested 
Blaye,  his  citadel ;  and  Bordeaux,  his  capital ;  and 
took  possession  of  both.  Provence  next  became 
refractory,  and  Aries  and  Marseilles  paid  the  penalty 
of  their   presumption.     Saxony   rebelled,  and  was 


♦  Servant  of  the  Merciful.  t  Paulus  Diaconus. 

7 


74  THE   FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY. 

forced  thenceforward  to  pay  Karl  an  annual  tribute. 
Another  army  of  Saracens  appeared  in  Provence  and 
seized  on  Avignon  :  but  Karl  carried  the  city  by 
assault  and  destroyed  it  by  fire.  The  Saracens  of 
Spain  flew  to  the  aid  of  their  brethren ;  Karl 
encountered  them  between  the  Val-de-Corbiere  and 
the  little  river  of  Bert,  and  crushed  them  at  the  first 
onset.  They  retreated  toward  their  ships,  but  Karl 
pursued  them  so  swiftly  that  he  outstiipped  them  in 
the  race,  reached  their  vessels,  and  took  possession  of 
them :  and  the  entire  infidel  army,  being  thus 
deprived  of  the  means  of  escape,  was  slain  or  cap- 
tured. Karl  then  returned  by  Beziers,  Magdelonne, 
Agde  and  Nismes,  razed  the  fortifications  of  the  lat- 
ter town,  and  garrisoned  the  others  with  men  devoted 
to  his  interest,  who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him 
in  a  formula  wherein  the  name  of  King  Theode-rik 
was  not  once  mentioned. 

Theode-rik  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  after 
a  reign  of  seventeen  years.  He  was  buried  at  St. 
Denis,  and  the  people  seemed  in  no  haste  to  remind 
Karl  that  a  successor  had  not  been  appointed. 

Karl,  on  his  own  part,  took  no  measures  toward 
supplying  the  vacancy ;  but  continued  for  five  years 
to  rule  under  the  title  of  Duke  of  the  Franks  and  Aus- 
trasians  ;  *  and  this  form  of  interregnum  materially 
advanced  the  coming  substitution  of  the  Carolingian 
for  the  Merovingian  monarchy. 

*  Abbfe  Conrad. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  15 

But,  though  Karl's  power  was  too  firmly  estab- 
lished for  the  lords  prudently  to  demand  a  King,  the 
time  had  not  yet  arrived  when  he  could  safely  pre- 
sent himself  to  them  in  that  capacity.  Pope  Gregory 
II.,  in  one  of  his  letters,  styles  him  Duke  and  Mayor 
of  the  Palace.  And  Gregory  111.  approaches  still 
nearer  to  the  regal  designation  by  giving  him  the 
name  of  vice-roy.  Though,  while  doing  so,  he  was 
imploring  his  assistance  under  the  following  circum- 
stances. 

Leo  (the  Iconoclast),  Emperor  of  the  East,  had 
prohibited  the  worship  of  images,  commanding  them 
to  be  taken  from  the  churches  and  bi'oken  as  idols. 
Gregory  III.  excommunicated  him  for  his  audacity, 
and  thus  took  the  first  step  of  the  spiritual  against 
the  temporal  authority.  Meantime  Luitprand,  taking 
advantage  of  the  troubles  of  the  empire,  made  him- 
self master  of  Ravenna  and  menaced  Rome.  The 
sovereign  pontiff,  in  great  alarm,  despatched  to  Karl 
ambassadors  bearing  the  keys  of  St.  Peter's  tomb 
and  a  few  links  of  the  chain  that  had  bound  the 
blessed  Apostle  ;  and  offering  him,  besides,  the  title 
of  Consul  of  Rome.  Karl  accepted  the  gifts  and,  with 
a  peremptory  menace,  only,  forced  Luitprand  to  with- 
draw his  troops  and  restore  to  the  holy  father  the 
dominions  he  had  wrested  from  him. 

Overwhelmed  with  the  fatigue  and  labors  of  an 
arduous  life,  Karl  now  fell  sick  at  Verberie-sur-Oise, 
near  the  city  of  Compeigne.     He  called  bis  two  sons, 


76  THE   FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY. 

Karl-mann  and  Peppin,  to  his  bedside  and  bequeathed 
to  them  the  kingdom  purchased  by  his  sword. 
Karl-mann  received  Auslrasia,  Germany,  and  Thu- 
ringia;  and  Peppin  was  made  Duke  of  Neustria,  Bur- 
gundy, and  Provence.  Karl  then  caused  himself  to 
be  carried  to  Paris,  knelt  before  the  tomb  of  St. 
Denis,  and  expired  at  Querzy-sur-Oise,  aged  fifty 
years,  in  741  —  "after  a  reign  of  twenty-five  years" 
says  the  continuation  of  the  chronicles  of  Fredegaire. 

Karl-le-Martel  received,  after  death,  the  royal 
honors  which,  during  his  life,  he  dared  not  assume. 
His  body  was  borne  with  great  pomp  to  the  Abbey 
of  St.  Denis ;  and  the  substitution  of  the  second  race 
for  the  first  was  confirmed  by  the  interment  of  an 
aristocratic  corse  in  the  royal  cemetery. 

Peppin,  lacking  the  influence  and  authority  so 
eminently  possessed  by  his  father,  soon  heard  on 
every  side  the  murmurs  of  the  turbulent  nobles,  who 
wanted  only  a  pretext  to  revolt.  In  order  to  accede 
to  their  wishes,  and  at  the  same  time  to  give  them 
a  proof  of  the  degeneracy  and  incompetency  of  the 
Merovingian  race  which  they  desired  to  perpetuate 
on  the  throne  —  he  chose,  as  the  individual  most 
likely  to  effect  this  latter  object,  a  son  of  Theode-rik, 
whom  he  placed  on  the  throne  in  743  or  744  with  the 
title  of  Hilpe-rik  III. 

The  people  of  the  several  provinces  rendered  trib- 
utary to  the  Franks  by  the  victories  of  Karl  began, 
also,  to  obey  with  great  reluctance  the  sons  of  their 


THE    FKANCO-KOaiAN    MONAKUIIY.  77 

conqueror.  One  after  another  they  revolted ;  but  here 
Karl-mann  and  Peppin  proved  themselves  worthy 
of  their  high  descent,  for  they  successively  defeated 
and  subdued  Odillon,  duke  of  Bavaria;  Theode-rik, 
duke  of  Saxony  ;  and  Hunold,  duke  of  Aquitania. 

Suddenly,  however,  in  the  very  midst  of  his  tri- 
umj^hs,  Karl-mann  became  disgusted  with  power, 
with  man,  and  with  the  world.  He  gave  up  the 
government  of  the  entire  monarchy  to  Peppin,  relin- 
quished his  warlike  arms  and  appointments,  and, 
habiting  himself  in  the  humble  garb  of  a  monk,  de- 
manded from  Pope  Zachary  a  place  in  the  abbey  of 
Mont-Cassin.* 

Peppin  now  remained  alone  in  front  of  the  phantom 
of  a  King.  But,  after  a  time —  either  forced  into  the 
measure  by  Peppin,  or  impelled  by  his  own  wishes 
— Hilpe-rik  III.  abdicated  with  the  consent  of  his 
vassals,  and  retired  to  the  monastery  of  St.  Bertin,  in 
Artois. 

Peppin  at  once  appreciated  his  position.  He  saw 
everything  concurring  in  the  annihilation  of  one  race 
and  the  exaltation  of  another.  He  therefore  assem- 
bled his  nobles,  displayed  to  them  his  title  and  claims 
to  the  crown,  and  was  proclaimed,  by  a  unanimous 
voice.  King  of  the  Franks. 


*  In  this  year  (745)  Karl-mann  acquainted  his  brother 
Peppin  with  a  project  on  which  he  had  for  a  long  time  medita- 
ted, viz. :  to  retire  from  the  world  and  serve  God  in  the  habit  of 
monk.  —  Annals  of  Eginhard. 
>7* 


78  THE    FRANCO -ROMAN    MONARCHT. 

It  was,  consequently,  by  virtue  of  election,  as  most 
worthy,  and  not  by  usurpation  as  the  strongest,  that 
Peppin  became  the  head  of  a  dynasty  which  num- 
bered thirteen  Kings.  The  usurpation  commenced 
with  his  son  ;  for,  in  his  case,  the  principle  of  election 
was  sacrificed  to  that  of  inheritance  :  but,  as  a  com- 
pensation for  the  infringement,  that  son  was  Char- 
lemagne. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  second  race,  we  will 
give  a  glance  at  the  first,  which  still  survived  in  the 
person  of  Hilpe-rik  III. —  whose  life  and  death 
passed  unheeded  in  the  abbey  of  Fontenelle,  now 
called  St.  Vandrille.  This  rapid  survey  will  be 
devoted  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  men  of 
the  conquest,  in  connexion  with  the  rise  and  growth 
of  the  several  powers  which,  at  a  later  day,  were  to 
form  the  religious  monarchy  of  the  second  race  and 
the  feudal  system  of  the  third. 

We  have  given  the  name'  of  Franco-Roman  to 
this  first  monarchy  because,  that  while  the  conquer- 
ors retained  their  own  vernacular  tongue  (which  was 
religiously  preserved;)  they  nevertheless  adopted  — 
with  the  exception  of  the  free  election  of  their 
Kings,  which  though  sometimes  violated  was  never 
abolished  —  first,  the  manners  and  afterward  the 
creed  of  their  vanquished  subjects.* 


*  The  Franks  gave  the  name  of  Romans,  without  distinction, 
to  the  three  primitive  nations  of  Gaul  who  had  been  subjected 
to  the  Roman  government. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY,  79 

Indeed,  the  only  change  seems  to  have  been  a  sub- 
stitution of  the  title  of  Chief  for  that  of  General ;  *  for 
those  who  bore  the  new  appellation  bon-owed  from 
their  predecessors  even  their  costume.  Constanti- 
nople sent  to  them,  as  to  her  Consuls,  the  purple  : 
their  Kings  took  the  title  of  Augustus,  as  did  the 
Emperors  :  their  crown  was  the  band  of  gold  :  their 
sceptre,  a  palm,  similar  to  that  thrown  away  by 
Sylla  and  recovered  by  Octavian :  the  leudes  of 
Hlodo-wig  were  a  counterpart  of  Caligula's  praeto- 
rian guard :  and  the  prevailing  costume  was  the 
chlamyde,  over  which  was  thrown  a  mantle  of  white 
or  blue,  short  at  the  sides,  long  in  front,  and  trailing 
behind.  The  theatres  were  circuses :  the  games, 
combats  of  lions  and  bulls.  The  ornaments  of  cities 
were  triumphal  arches  and  capitols.  The  great  roads 
were  military  high- ways ;  the  churches,  ancient  tem- 
ples ;  and  the  laws,  the  Theodosian  code.  The 
throne,  alone,  differed  from  the  curule  chair  of  the 
Consuls  and  the  golden  arm-chair  of  the  Emperors  : 
it  was  a  simple  stool,  without  arms  or  back,  which, 
from  its  very  form,  warned  the  early  Frank  chiefs — 
those  Kings  of  the  shield  —  that  they  would  be 
obliged  to  sustain  themselves  without  aid  from 
others. 

The  army  had  no  other  pay  than  the  spoils  of  war : 


•  Dux. 


80  THE    FRANCO-KOMAN    MONARCHY. 

each  one  brought  his  part,  and  all  divided  and  shared 
the  booty  like  brothers.  The  vanquished  territory- 
belonged  to  ths  conqueror ;  who,  according  to  the 
services  to  be  rewarded,  bestowed  portions  of  it  on 
his  generals  under  the  names  of  alleti,  or  lands  in  fee, 
and  o£  Jiefs,  or  lands  held  of  the  King  during  his 
pleasure.  The  inhabitants  of  these  domains  were 
given  with  the  1  u.d,  and  they  became  thenceforward 
the  property  of  a  master  whose  control  over  them 
was  absolute. 

The  precise  time  when  these  territorial  cessions 
commenced  should  be  fixed,  we  think,  at  that  period 
when  the  division  of  the  monarchy  between  the 
children  of  Hlodo-wig  gave  rise  to  the  family  feuds 
we  have  mentioned.  As  the  power  of  each  sovereign 
consisted  in  the  confidence  he  could  repose  in  his 
generals  and  soldiers,  each  was  obliged  to  make 
sacrifices  to  secure  the  attachment  of  his  subordinates. 
The  gift  of  lands  in  alleu  gave  the  recipients  a 
strong  interest  to  defend  the  soil ;  the  owner  fought 
for  his  possessions  as  the  King  did  for  his  kingdom. 
Of  course,  this  manner  of  disposing  the  land  could 
not  have  been  in  operation  during  the  time  of 
Hlodowig,  since  he  granted  to  St.  Remy  all  he 
could  walk  around  during  his  sleep.  Now,  there  is 
nothing  to  show  that  he  dictated  to  the  prelate 
what  route  he  should  pursue  ;  and,  certainly,  he 
could  not  have  proceeded  far  in  any  direction  with- 
out crossing  land  bestowed  in  alleu,  the  proprietor 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY.  81 

of  which  would  scarcely  have  consented  to  be 
despoiled  from  mere  consideration  to  the  King's 
promise.  The  incident  of  the  vase  of  Soissons  suffi- 
ciently evinces  the  respect  that  all  —  conquerors, 
chiefs,  and  soldiers — paid  to  the  right  of  property. 

In  taking  a  survey  of  Gaul  under  Hlodo-wig,  we 
see  only  a  conquering  King,  conquering  generals, 
and  a  conquering  array.  The  vanquished  populace 
were  no  longer  regarded  in  the  rank  of  nations,  for 
they  had  become  mere  slaves. 

The  territorial  divisions  which  took  place  under 
the  reigns  of  Theode-rik,  Hlodo-mer,  Hilde-bert,  and 
Hlot-her,  in  no  particular  changed  the  position  of  the 
degraded  inhabitants,  except  that  their  bondage 
became  more  complete  by  the  partition.  They 
formed  an  immense  troop,  and,  on  the  death  of  their 
master,  were  divided  among  his  heirs  who  had  the 
right  to  sell  them,  give  them  away,  or  slay  them. 

This  is  the  reason  why  ancient  historians  are  so 
silent  concerning  the  people  under  the  first  race  : 
this  is  the  reason  why  fourteen  millions  of  indivi- 
duals, whom  Caesar  had  made  Roman  citizens,  seem 
—  so  far  as  the  records  of  history  are  concerned  — 
to  have  suddenly  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the 
earth,  leaving  no  trace  or  memorial  behind  them. 

It  is  our  purpose,  however,  to  keep  them  in 
remembrance,  for  they  were  the  sole  ancestors  of  the 
French  nation :  a  people  who  submitted  to  the 
double  conquest   of  civilization   and    barbarism  — 


82  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

from  Crauls  as  they  originally  were,  becoming 
Romans  under  Caesar;  and,  from  Romans  under 
Cassar,  dwindling  into  slaves  under  Hlodo-wig. 
Upon  this  conquered  territory,  among  these  slaves 
and  victors,  was  to  arise,  under  the  protection  of  the 
Cross,  a  vigorous  and  new  race.  The  Saviour 
Christ,  is  the  only  son  of  God,  and  the  French 
nation  was  to  be  the  eldest-born  of  Christ. 

To  explain  our  idea.  We  have  remarked  that  the 
division  of  the  kingdom  of  Hlodo-wig  into  four  parts 
led  to  war  between  the  sovereigns.  As  a  natural 
consequence  of  universal  war,  famine  ensued  :  for 
while  every  bondman  and  every  freeman  was 
engaged  in  mortal  strife,  thq  earth  forgot  to  bring 
forth, 

The  royal   as  well   as  the  seigneurial   domains 
remained   untilled,  and  over  the  whole   expanse  of 
this  once  rich  and  fertile  Gaul,  but  a  few  fields  of 
grain  were  to  be  seen. 

These  fields  were  the  property  of  the  successors 
of  St.  Remy  —  men  of  peace,  who  had  fertilized  a 
few  isolated  spots  of  a  land  devastated  in  its  length 
and  breadth  by  men  of  war. 

The  harvests  of  these  fields,  however,  were  inade- 
quate to  supply  the  wants  of  the  army:  and  Kings 
and  nobles  concurred  in  the  self-evident  proposition 
that  to  raise  the  aggregate  of  the  harvests  to  the 
necessities  of  the  people  it  was  necessary  to  augment 
the  donations  of  land  already  made  to  the  Church. 


THE   FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY.  83 

And,  having  done  this,  the  warriors  —  sure  that  the 
survivors  w^ould  not  die  of  famine — returned  to 
butcher  each  other  as  before. 

From  the  moment  they  belonged  to  the  Church, 
the  slaves  (given,  always,  with  the  land)  were  free, 
and  the  soil  was  fertile  :  for  Christ,  in  speaking  of 
slaves  had  said,  "  The  disciple  is  not  above  his 
master,  nor  the  servant  above  his  lord." 

And  he  further  said,  of  lands,  "  The  seed  that  fell 
on  good  ground  sprang  up  and  bare  fruit,  some 
thirty,  some  sixty,  and  some  an  hundred  fold."* 

In  conformity  to  these  words,  communities  were 
formed  —  genuine  religious  republics,  subjected  to 
agrarian  laws,  obedient  to  an  elected  head,  an 
abbe,  whose  device,  for  this  world  and  the  next,  was 
equality. 

These  were  the  people:  — 

A  people  vigorous  and  young;  who,  increasing 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross,  were  neither  the 
citizens  of  Caesar  nor  the  slaves  of  Hlodo-wig,  but 
were  emphatically  the  people,  containing  within 
themselves  the  i-equisites  of  a  nation  yet  to  be. 
They  were  at  first  but  a  family,  by  no  means  power- 
ful, who  owed  their  existence  to  necessity  and  their 
preservation  to  the  cloister  :  but  their  children  were 
multiplying  each  day,   their  territorial  power   was 


*  These  evangelical  parables  are  remarkable  for  their  truth, 
whether  taken  in  a  figurative  or  literal  sense. 


84  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

augmenting  each  year;  and  to  such  an  extent  was 
this  increase  of  numbers  and  strength,  that,  toward 
the  middle  of  the  seventh  century,  Hlodo-wig  II.,  in 
an  assembly  at  the  Champ-de-Ma^rs  observed  that  a 
part  of  the  kingdom  was  not  represented  ;  and  he 
apprized  the  clergy  that  they  were  to  send  deputies 
to  the  next  convocation. 

These  first  deputies,  whose  names  have  not  been 
preserved,  repairing  to  the  assembly  of  the  Franks, 
represented  in  an  unperceived  but  incontestible  man- 
ner the  nation  that  was  gi'owing  in  the  bosom  of  the 
conquest.  They  were  the  vanquished,  already  re- 
acting against  the  victors.  They  were  the  sons  of 
those  who  had  received  the  law  with  their  faces  in 
the  dust;  which  sons,  now  raising  themselves  on  their 
knees,  entreated  the  privilege  of  discussing  this  law : 
and  waiting  till  their  children,  on  foot,  and  sword  in 
hand,  should  demand  why  this  law  had  been  imposed 
on  them. 

About  this  period  Papacy  began  to  proclaim  its 
democratic  mission,  and  took  upon  itself  the  defence 
of  interests  of  which  it  soon  became  the  represen- 
tative :  —  an  elected  popular  power  in  face  of,  and  in 
opposition  to,  an  elective  aristocratic  power ;  it  em- 
ployed the  authority  it  received  from  the  people  to 
defend  the  people  against  royal  and  seigneiirial 
encroachments.  From  this  moment,  the  nation, 
represented  by  the  Church,  had  its  tribunal  as  the 
conquest,  represented  by  the  aristocracy,  had  its  king. 


THE    FRANCO-ROMAN   MONARCHY.  85 

One  held  a  staff,  the  other  a  scepti-e  ;  one  wore  a 
tiara,  the  other  a  crown ;  and  in  the  strife  that  these 
two  rival  powers  waged  against  each  other,  the 
Caesar  of  the  people,  so  long  as  he  was  the  cham- 
pion of  the  democracy,  always  terminated  the  con- 
test by  placing  his  feet  on  the  neck  of  the  aristocratic 
Caesar. 

Such  was  the  political  labor  of  the  Church  during 
the  early  centuries  of  the  monarchy.  In  the  survey 
which  we  shall  take  of  France  after  the  extinction 
of  the  race  of  Charlemagne,  we  shall  resume  this 
subject  where  we  now  abandon  it ;  and  follow  it  in 
its  representation  of  the  popular  interest  as  far  as  the 
pontificate  of  Stephen  III.  and  John  XII. 

The  literary  labors  of  the  Church  were  immense. 
The  cenobitical  life,  by  detaching  men  from  the  cares 
of  the  world,  forced  them  to  expend  their  energies 
upon  intellectual  effort.  The  political  independence 
of  the  monk  gave  him  a  literary  independence. 
That  learned  tongue  in  which  he  wrote,  and  which 
was  unknown  to  his  conquerors,  enabled  him, 
while  exhaling  his  scorn  and  hatred,  to  transmit  to 
us  his  real  sentiments  toward  his  oppressors ;  and 
to  prove,  by  the  constant  application  to  them  of 
the  term  barbarians,  the  true  light  in  which  he 
regarded  them.  Monasteries  were,  therefore,  forti- 
fied libraries,  preserving  for  us  the  treasures  of  pagan 
literature.  The  works  of  antiquity  would  have  been 
lost,  if  the  cloister  had  not  received  and  enclosed 
8 


86  THE    FRANCO-ROMAN    MONARCHY. 

them  in  its  inviolable  recesses,  where  copies,  under- 
taken sometimes  in  the  pure  spirit  of  science,  some- 
times as  a  penitential  mortification,  were  multiplied 
in  number ;  and  by  this  lueans  the  chain  of  the  past 
was  connected  with  that  of  the  future,  and  the 
ancient  and  modern  ages  were  indissolubly  bound 
together.  Homer,  Hesiod,  Apollonius,  Musaeus,  Co- 
luthus,  jEschylus,  Sophocles,  Euripides,  Herodotus, 
Thucydides,  Xenophon,  Virgil,  Livy,  Polybius,  Dio- 
nysius .  of  Halicarnassus,  Sallust,  Ceesar,  Lvxcan, 
Tacitus,  Josephus,  Suetonius,  Jornandes,  Salvian, 
Eusebius,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Jerome,  Gregory  of 
Tours,  St.  Remigius,  Fredegaire,  Alcuinus,  Anguil- 
bert,  Eginhard,  Teghan,  Loup-de-Ferriere,  Eric  of 
Auxerre,  Hincmar,  Odo  of  Clugny,  Gherbert,  Abbon, 
Fulbert,  Rigaltius,  Ville-hardouin,  Joinville,  Guil- 
laume  de  Tyi',  Jean  de  Meun,  Froissard,  Monstrelet, 
Juvenal  des  Ursins,  Commines,  Brantome,  Sully, 
and  De  Thou  —  this  is  the  uninterrupted  series  of 
authors  by  means  of  whose  labors  we  can  ascend 
from  verified  modern  facts  to  the  fabulous  traditions 
of  antiquity.  Each  one  of  these  is  a  torch  placed  on 
the  highway  of  ages,  illuminating  his  own  epoch, 
and  rendering  feasible  to  all  that  folloAvthe  explora- 
tion of  a  road  which  runs  through  the  middle  ages 
of  France,  the  barbarian  irruptions  from  the  East 
and  North,  the  invasion  of  Ca3sar,  the  conquests  of 
Alexander,  and  the  Peloponnesian  war  :  a  period  of 
no  less  than  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  years. 


PART  SECOND. 


GAUL. 


THE     CONaUERING     RACE. 


THE  FRANK  MONARCHY. 


PEPPIN-LE-BREF. 


We  have  shown  our  readers  the  ascendancy  of 
the  Austrasian  over  the  Neustrian  powder,  and  the 
triumph  of  aristocracy  over  royalty ;  but  our  naiTa- 
tion  will  have  been  misunderstood  if  it  is  thence  in- 
ferred that  the  advancement  of  Peppin  to  the  Mero- 
vingian throne  was  an  act  of  usurpation.  It  was 
but  the  overthrow  of  a  dynasty  which,  by  degrees, 
had  substituted  in  its  ovni  favor  the  right  of  inheritance 
for  that  of  election.  By  choosing  their  King  from 
without  the  circle  of  the  reigning  family,  the  nobles 
had  made  use  of  a  neglected,  but  not  abolished  privi- 
lege. All  the  requirements  of  the  law  of  election 
had  been  complied  with.  The  Pope*  had  approved 
the  nomination  of  the  leudes ;  and  thus  the  choice  of 


*  To  the  following  question  proposed  by  Peppin  —  "Which 
should  bear  the  title  of  King ;  an  impotent  prince,  or  a  capable 
mayor  of  the  Palace'?"  the  Pope  (Zachary)  replied :  "  He  alone 
merits  the  title  who  can  adequately  discharge  the  duties  of  a 
King." 

8* 


90  THE    FRANK   MONARCHY. 

the  conquering  people  was  ratified  by  the  conquered 
people,  of  whom  Zachary  was  the  representative.  A 
hope  was  naturally  entertained  that  the  accession  of 
the  founder  of  the  second  dynasty  to  the  throne 
would  essentially  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
lower  orders ;  and  in  fact,  the  change  from  slavery 
to  servitude  took  place  under  his  descendants.  More- 
over, this  was  the  first  instance  of  the  Pope's  conse- 
crating, by  his  sjjiritual  approbation,  the  act  of  the 
temporal  authority  which  elevated  a  King  to  the 
throne. 

This  condescension  on  the  part  of  the  Pope  was 
amply  recompensed.  In  the  first  place,  Peppin  con- 
sented to  be  consecrated  at  Soissons  by  Boniface, 
arch-bishop  of  Mayence,  according  to  the  Jewish 
rite.  The  prelate  anointed  him  with  oil,  after  the 
manner  of  the  Kings  of  Israel :  and  this  ceremony, 
adopted  by  his  successors,  and  continued  until  the 
fall  of  Charles  X.,  became  the  principle  to  which  the 
Kings  of  France  allied  the  doctrine  of  the  divine 
right.  In  the  next  place,  he  fought  and  defeated 
Astolph,  King  of  the  Lombards,  who  had  besieged 
Rome  :  and  he  gave  to  the  church  of  St.  Peter  a 
portion  of  the  vanquished  King's  dominions.  Thus, 
he  recognised,  at  his  coronation,  the  spiritual  supre- 
macy of  Zachary ;  and  by  this  surrender  of  territory 
to  Stephen  III.,  Zachary's  successor,  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  temporal  jDOwer  of  Rome. 

Between  the  two  periods  at  which  these  important 


THE   PRANK    MONARCHY.  91 

acts  occurred,  another  incident  of  moment  took 
place,  viz.:  the  journey  of  Stephen  III.  into  Neus- 
tria.  He  came  to  demand  assistance  from  Peppin; 
and,  as  a  preliminary,  he  anointed  Peppin's  sons, 
Karl  and  Karl-mann,  heirs  to  the  throne. 

Thus,  in  Peppin's  case,  consecration  followed 
election  and  confirmed  it ;  his  accession  did  not  in 
any  manner  infringe  upon  the  customs  by  which  the 
Merovingian  Kings  ascended  the  throne. 

But  in  the  case  of  Karl  and  Karl-mann,  on  the  con- 
trary, not  only  did  consecration  precede,  but  actually 
supersede,  election  ;  and  the  rights  of  the  conquering 
nation  which  were  only  violated  under  the  fii'St  race, 
were  totally  abolished  under  the  second.  From  this 
moment  it  was  easy  to  foresee  that  the  papal  autho- 
rity, representing  the  popular  will,  would  increase 
with  the  development  of  that  will ;  would  follow  it 
in  its  progress ;  remain  faithful  to  it  in  all  its  muta- 
tions ;  and,  when  the  time  should  arrive  for  a 
strife  between  the  conflicting  interests  of  the  people 
and  royalty,  it  would  take  part  with  the  native  against 
the  foreigner,  and  make  common  cause  with  the  men 
of  the  nation  against  the  men  of  the  conquest. 

It  was,  thus,  a  characteristic  of  Peppin's  reign  — 
and  the  example  has  been  more  than  once  followed 
in  after  times,  —  that  powers  and  privileges,  resusci- 
tated to  secure  his  exaltation  to  the  crown,  were 
afterward  ungratefully  abused  to  perpetuate  his 
dynasty ;  and  in  this,  we  apprehend,  consists  usurp- 


92  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY, 

ation,  rightly  SO  called :  nor  an  assumption  of  power 
over  Kings,  but  over  the  rights  of  those  who  create 
Kings.  The  French  nobles  were  greatly  discon- 
tented; for  two  mighty  principles,  till  then  unrecog- 
nised, had  taken  precedent  of  their  ancient  preroga- 
tive ;  first,  the  principle  of  divine  right ;  and, 
secondly,  that  of  inheritance. 

But,  to  return  to  Pepj^in. 

Pope  Stephen  III.,  at  his  death,  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother  Paul:  and  at  this  time  the  Saxons,  the 
Sclavonians,  and  the  Lombards  again  threatened 
Rome.  Peppin  marched  to  the  aid  of  Paul  and 
conquered  the  invaders  ;  compelling  the  King  of 
Sclavonia  and  the  Prince  of  Lombardy  to  become 
his  vassals  and  thenceforward  to  pay  tribute  to 
France.  The  Pope,  in  return  for  this  timely  assist- 
ance, sent  to  Peppin  some  choristers  of  the  Roman 
Church,  to  instruct  those  of  his  palace  ;  and  made 
him  a  present  of  several  manuscripts  of  geogi-aphy, 
orthography,  and  grammar ;  and,  among  others,  the 
works  of  St.  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and  Aristo- 
tle's logic :  and  also,  a  nocturnal  clock,  the  first  ever 
seen  in  France.* 

Peppin  next  turned  his  arms  against  Va'ifre,  Duke 
of  Aquitania,  who  was  descended  from  Bogghis,  son 
of  Hari-bert,  and  who  consequently  carried  in  his 
veins  the  pure  blood  of  the  first  race.     Indeed,  the 

*  Epistola  Pauli  ad  Pippin. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  93 

existence  of  this  genuine  branch  of  the  first  race  in 
Aquitania  had  been,  and  was  still  to  be,  a  source  of 
constant  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  sovereigns  of 
the  second  race,  and  of  resistance  and  revolt  on  the 
part  of  the  descendants  of  Hlodo-wig  —  the  latter 
uniformly  refusing  to  acknow^ledge  themselves  vas- 
sals of  a  throne  that  had  belonged  to  their  fathers.* 
In  the  present  expedition,  Vaifre  was  defeated,  and 
in  the  flight  that  ensued,  he  was  slain  by  his  own 
troops.t     The  duchy  was  re-united  to  the  crown. 

Shortly  after  this  conquest,  Peppin  fell  dangerously 
ill  at  Saintes.  He  caused  himself  to  be  carried  to 
the  tomb  of  St.  Martin,  where  he  prayed  two  days ; 
and  thence  he  was  transported  to  St.  Denis,  where 
he  died  of  a  dropsy.^  He  expired  in  the  fifty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  the  twenty-sixth  of  his  government, 
and  the  seventeenth  of  his  reign.  He  was  buried, 
according  to  his  own  request,  with  his  face  to  the 
earth  and  near  the  door  of  the  church  ;  a  position 
that  he  conceived  to  be  indicative  of  extreme 
humility. 

His  two  sons,  Karl  and  Karl-mann,  succeeded 
him  in   768.     Their  father  had  taken  care  to  divide 


*  Gaillard,  Labru^re,  Chateaubriand. 

t  Continuation  of  Frcdegaire.  The  name  of  the  author  of  this 
continuation  is  unknown.  It  was  written  by  order  of  the  illus- 
trious warrior,  Nibe-Lung,  son  of  Hilde-Brand. 

t  On  the  18th.  —  or,  according  to  some  the  24th.  —  Sept.,7G8. 


94  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

his  kingdom  between  them  during  his  life-time,  giving 
Neustria  to  Karl-mann  and  Austrasia  to  Karl ;  and, 
to  each,  one  half  of  the  recently  conquered  duchy 
of  Aquitania.  The  nobles,  who  dared  not  dispvite 
the  right  of  succession,  ventured,  nevertheless  to 
resist  the  partition  ;  and,  in  order  to  a  formal  demon- 
stration of  their  rights,  they  assembled  together  and 
proclaimed  Karl  King  of  Neustria,  and  Karl-mann 
King  of  Austrasia,*  —  thus  reversing  Peppin's  aj)- 
pointment.  The  young  Kings,  however,  accepted  the 
change  and  were  crowned  simultaneously :  Karl  at 
Noyon ;   and  Karl-mann,  at  Soissons. 

Karl-mann  died  soon  after  his  coronation ;  leaving 
two  sons.  But  the  nobles  of  Austrasia,  emboldened 
by  their  previous  success,  refused  to  acknowledge 
these  sons  as  Kings,  and  proffered  the  crown  to  Karl, 
who  accepted  it,  and  thus  became  the  sovereign  of 
the  entire  realm. 

Karl  was  one  of  those  men  to  whom  a  great  histo- 
rian should  be  exclusively  devoted.  He  belonged 
to  that  class  of  beings  whom  God  has  predestinated 
for  special  purposes,  and  sent  upon  the  earth  at  their 
appointed  time.  During  the  life  of  such  men,  mar- 
vellous things  are  accomplished ;  and  they  are  ordi- 
narily ascribed  to  mere  human  agency :  for  the 
visible  cause  is  before  us,  and  we  attribute  the  events 
solely  to  its  instrumentality.     But  after  the  man  has 

*  Eginhard:  in  vita  Caroli  Magni. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  95 

passed  away,  and  we  calmly  compare  the  ends  he 
seemed  to  have  attained,  with  the  results  actually 
effected,  we  find  that  he  was  but  an  instrument  in  the 
hand  of  his  Maker,  instead  of  a  creature  obeying  the 
impulses  of  his  own  will ;  and  we  are  forced  to  see 
and  to  confess  that  the  genius  was  blind  in  propor- 
tion as  it  was  mighty  ;  and,  the  more  it  accomplished, 
the  less  was  it  self-directed. 

Those  historians  who  have  presented  Karl  —  the 
translator  will  hereafter  apply  to  him  the  name  by 
which,  in  our  present  language,  he  is  universally 
known,  Charlemagne  —  as  a  French  monarch,  have 
labored  under  a  great  misapprehension  of  the  facts. 
Charlemagne  was  a  man  of  the  North  — -  a  barbarian, 
who  never  learned  to  write  even  his  name  :  who 
sealed  his  treaties  with  the  hilt  of  his  sword,  and 
enforced  their  observance  with  its  point.  Germany, 
the  native  land  of  his  ancestry,  was  emphatically  his 
own  favorite  domain.  His  two  capitals  were  Aix-la- 
Chapelle  and  Thionville.  The  language  he  habitu- 
ally spoke  was  the  Teutonic.  His  dress  was  that  of 
his  forefathers.  And  when  he  found  that,  in  his 
dominions,  the  Romance  language  was  supplant- 
ing his  vernacular  tongue,  and  the  national  dress 
superseding  that  to  which  he  had  been  accustomed, 
he  gave  orders  to  collect  all  the  songs  of  his  father- 
land, that  they  at  least  might  be  preseived  for  his 
jjosterity ;  and  he  obstinately  refused  to  array  him- 
self in  any  costume  but  that  of  his  progenitors. 


96  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

Charlemagne  is  the  type  of  conquest  at  the  culmi- 
nating point  of  its  power.  His  throne  is  the  most 
elevated  point  of  the  Frank  monarchy,  which  was  to 
give  place  to  the  French  monarchy.  His  successors, 
unable  to  rise  higher  than  his  standard,  were  destined 
to  fall  far  below  it :  and  if  the  time  occupied  in  the 
downfall  of  the  race  seems  disproportioned  to  the 
gradual  progress  of  its  elevation,  it  is  because  descent 
is  much  easier  than  ascent  in  the  scale  of  greatness 
and  of  power. 

Charlemagne  was  sent  upon  the  earth  to  found 
and  to  build,  in  the  ninth  century,  a  colossal  empire 
in  Europe  :  which  empii'e  was  to  crush  the  remnant 
of  those  savage  nations  who,  by  reiterated  incursions, 
had  overthrown  all  growing  civilization  and  hindered 
the  Gospel  from  bearing  fiuit.  Hence,  the  long 
reign  of  this  Emperor  was  devoted  to  one  object, — 
the  repelling  of  barbarism  by  a  barbarian.  He 
drove  the  Goths  beyond  the  Pyrenees  ;  pursued  the 
Huns  and  Avars  into  Panonia ;  and  destroyed  the 
kingdom  of  Didier  in  Italy  :  and  at  length,  fatigued 
with  the  toilsof  a  thirty  years'  war  with  the  Saxons,  he 
determined  to  bring  to  an  end  their  revolt,  treason,  and 
idolatry.  For  this  purpose,  he  marched  from  city  to 
city,  placed  his  sword  upright  in  the  earth  in  the 
centre  of  each  town,  and,  causing  the  people  to 
assemble  around  it,  he  commanded  his  soldiers  — 
upon  the  true  Procrustian  principle  —  to  cut  off 
every  head  that  rose  above  the  level  of  his  blade. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  97 

One  nation,  alone,  escaped  him — the  Normans: 
who,  at  a  later  period,  by  combining  with  the  other 
nations  already  established  in  the  bosom  of  Gaul, 
became  the  true  and  direct  ancestors  of  the  French 
people.  At  present,  they  owed  their  safety  to  the 
fleetness  of  their  movements.  Wherever  they  placed 
themselves  on  the  soil  of  the  empire,  Karl  was  there 
in  force  to  repel  them  :  and  no  sooner  did  he  appear, 
than  they  eluded  his  gi'asp  and  took  refuge  in  the 
ships  that  lay  waiting  to  receive  them.  The  monk 
of  St.  Gall  thus  narrates  one  of  their  apparitions  upon 
the  coast  :  — 

Karl,  who  was  always  on  the  march,  arrived  by 
chance  and  unexpectedly  in  a  certain  maritime  city 
of  Narbonnensian  Gaul;  and  while  there,  a  fleet  of 
Norman  pirates  came  to  anchor  in  the  harbor. 
When  these  strange  vessels  were  discovered,  a  ques- 
tion arose  as  to  the  country  whence  they  came. 
Some  believed  them  to  be  Jews  ;  others,  Africans  ; 
and  others,  again,  Britons.  The  Emperor,  however, 
recognised  them  at  once  by  their  long  hulls,  slender 
masts,  and  sails  like  the  wings  of  a  bird  of  prey  ; 
and,  turning  toward  one  of  his  followers,  he  said  — 
"  Those  vessels  are  not  filled  with  merchandise,  but 
with  enemies."  At  these  words,  the  Franks  sprang 
forward  with  great  enthusiasm,  determined.to  punish 
the  audacious  intruders,  but  their  attempt  was  vain  : 
for  the  Normans,  having  learned  that  the  great 
Emperor  (whom  they  were  accustomed  to  call  Karl- 
9 


98  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY, 

le-Marteau)  was  there  in  person,  weighed  their 
anchors  and  set  sail  with  incredible  rapidity,  lest 
their  whole  flotilla  should  be  captured  and  burned  — 
and  thus  they  escaped  not  only  the  swords,  but  the 
fierce  looks  of  the  Franks. 

The  pious  Karl,  in  the  meantime,  filled  with  a 
great  disquietude,  arose  from  the  table  ;  and  placing 
himself  at  a  window  that  looked  toward  the  East, 
remained  there  a  long  time  with  his  arms  folded  and 
tears  running  down  his  cheeks.  Then,  as  no  one 
dared  inquire  the  cause  of  this  deep  grief,  he  was 
pleased  to  say  "  My  faithful  friends,  know  ye  why  I 
weep  so  bitterly  1  It  is  not,  certes,  that  I  fear  yon 
men  will  annoy  me  by  their  pitiful  piracies  ;  but  I 
am  cut  to  the  heart  that  they  dare  approach  this 
shore  while  1  live  —  because  I  foresee  how  they  will 
persecute  my  children  and  their  people  after  I  am 
gone." 

We  will  give  another  extract  to  show  how  Charle- 
magne appeared  to  the  generation  that  succeeded 
him  :  it  is  brilliant  history  :  — 

One  of  the  lords  of  the  kingdom,  named  Ogger, 
had  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  terrible  Karl ; 
and,  to  escape  his  resentment,  had  taken  refuge  with 
Desiderius,  King  of  the  Lombards.  When  it  was 
known  in  Lombardy  that  the  dreaded  King  of  the 
Franks  was  approaching,  Desiderius  and  Ogger 
ascended  to  the  summit  of  a  high  tower  that  com- 
manded a  view  of  the  country  on  all  sides.     At  first, 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  99 

they  saw  machines  of  war  like  those  that  must  have 
served  the  legions  of  Darius  and  Julius.  "  Is  not 
Karl  with  this  army  ]"   demanded  the  King. 

"  No,"  replied  Ogger. 

An  immense  troop  of  common  soldiers  came  next, 
and  the  King  again  demanded,  "  Surely  Karl  is  tri- 
umphantly advancing  in  the  midst  of  this  host  ]" 

"  No,  not  yet ;"  was  Ogger's  answer. 

"  What  shall  we  do,"  said  the  King  in  alarm,  "  if 
he  come  with  a  still  greater  force  than  we  see  1" 

"  When  he  comes,"  answered  Ogger,  "  you  will 
see  him  as  he  is;  but  what  will  become  of  us,  I 
know  not." 

While  he  spoke  these  words,  the  Emperor's 
guard  that  never  knew  repose,  began  to  appear  in 
the  distance.     The  terrified  King  exclaimed  — 

"  This  is  Karl  himself!" 

"  Not  yet,"  rejoined  Ogger. 

Next  to  these  battalions  came  the  bishops,  the 
abbes,  the  priests  of  the  royal  chapel  and  the  Counts 
of  the  empire.  Desiderius,  believing  that  he  saw 
Death  incarnate  marshalling  this  troop,  cried  out 
with  tears, 

"  Let  us  descend  and  hide  ourselves  in  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  far  away  from  the  frown  and  the  fury 
of  so  terrible  a  foe." 

But  Ogger,  though  also  trembling  —  for  he  too 
well  knew  the  Emperor's  power  —  prevented  his 
retreat,  being  sure  that  Karl  was  not  with  this 
troop  ; 


100  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

"  Nay,"  said  he ;  "  but  when  you  shall  see  the 
grain  shaking  in  the  fields  and  bending  as  before  the 
breath  of  the  tempest ;  when  you  behold  the 
affrighted  Po  and  Tesin  overflow  the  walls  of  your 
city  with  waves  that  are  blackened  by  iron  —  then 
you  may  believe  that  Karl  approaches." 

He  had  scarcely  finished,  when  something  like  a 
dark  cloud  lifted  by  the  wind  was  seen  on  the  west- 
ern horizon,  and  the  sky,  until  then  clear,  became 
suddenly  obscured.  From  the  middle  of  this  cloud 
the  glancing  of  arms  flashed  forth  upon  the  eyes  of 
the  awe-struck  spectators,  and  Karl  himself  appear- 
ed ;  Karl,  that  man  of  iron ;  his  head  covered  with 
a  casque  of  iron,  his  hands  encased  in  gauntlets  of 
iron,  his  broad  chest  and  huge  shoulders  protected 
by  a  cuirass  of  iron,  his  left  hand,  brandishing  his 
lance  of  iron,  and  his  right  wielding  his  invincible 
sword.  The  inside  of  his  thighs  —  where  other 
horsemen  wore  not  even  leather,  that  they  might 
with  more  facility  mount  their  steeds — was  cover- 
ed with  scales  of  iron.  As  for  buskins,  the  whole 
army  wore  them  of  iron.  His  buckler  was  of  iron. 
His  very  horse  was  of  the  color  and  strength  of  iron. 
All  who  preceded  him,  all  who  moved  by  his  side, 
all  who  followed  him  —  and,  indeed,  the  army,  as  far 
as  the  means  of  each  individual  man  would  allow, 
was  equipped  in  a  similar  manner.  Iron  covered 
the  fields  ;  iron  covered  the  roads ;  the  rays  of  the 
sun  flashed  upon  innumerable  points  of  iron,  and  this 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  101 

mighty  panoply  of  iron  was  borne  by  a  race  whose 
hearts  were  as  hard  as  iron.  The  glancing  of  this 
iron  now  spread  terror  through  the  streets  of  the 
city,  and  every  one  in  his  flight  reiterated  the  excla- 
mation, "  Oh,  the  iron  !  the  iron  !"* 

Charlemagne,  like  all  men  of  great  genius,  was 
simple  in  his  family,  magnificent  toward  the  people, 
and  ostentatious  with  strangers.  From  the  chroni- 
cles of  the  monk  of  St.  Gall  we  can  most  accurately 
estimate  his  character  in  detail.  His  military  ex- 
peditions are  faithfully  recorded  by  his  friend  and 
secretary,  Eginhard;  whose  pages  supply  abundant 
material  to  any  writer  of  the  present  day  desirous 
to  present  a  faithful  picture  of  his  conquests.  His 
campaigns  were  fifty-three  in  number. 

Our  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  follow  him  either 
in  his  civil  or  militai'y  life.  We  can  merely  take  a 
view  of  the  state  of  his  kingdom  (to  which  he  restored 
the  name  of  the  Empire  of  the  West)  at  the  time  of 
his  death.  It  was  a  colossal  empire,  for  its  shadow 
reaches  even  to  us,  and  its  name,  if  not  its  power, 
still  lives  in  modern  Europe. 

AVe  behold,  then,  this  empire,  aggi'andized  by 
conquest,  powerful  and  respected,  extending  itself 
to  the  Baltic  in  Germany,  to  the  Voltumo  in  Italy, 
to  the  Ebro  in  Spain,  and  to  the  Ocean  in  Gaul. 
Nine  great  nations  were  enclosed  within   its  vast 

*  The  monk  of  St.  Gall. 


102  THE    FRANK    MONARCHy. 

boundaries,  subjected  to  the  same  laws  and  professing 
the  same  religion  ;  and  this  apparent  concord,  accom- 
plished by  the  labors  of  a  single  reign,  is  but  a 
stronger  proof  of  the  genius  of  the  mind  that  con- 
ceived the  plan,  and  the  vigor  of  the  arm  that  com-'^ 
pleted  the  edifice. 

We  quote  from  Eginhard  an  account  of  the  pre- 
cise limits  of  this  Western  Empire  : 

"  France,  as  it  was  left  by  Peppin,  comprehended 
only  that  part  of  Gaul  situated  between  the  Rhine 
and  the  Loire,  the  Ocean  and  the  Balearic  Sea  ;  that 
portion  of  Germany  inhabited  by  the  Franks,  bounded 
by  Saxony,  the  Danube,  the  Rhine,  the  Sala,  the 
country  of  the  Allemanni  and  Bavaria.  Karl,  by 
his  memorable  wars,  added  to  these  —  first,  Aquita- 
nia,  Gascony,  the  entire  chain  of  the  Pyrenees,  and 
the  adjacent  countries  as  far  as  the  Ebro  ;  afterward, 
that  part  of  Italy  v.-hich,  from  the  valley  of  Aosta  to 
Lower  Calabria,  (the  frontier  of  the  Greeks  and 
Beneventines,)  extends  a  distance  of  a  million  of 
paces  (in  round  numbers,  one  thousand  English 
miles)  :  still  afterward,  Saxony,  a  portion  of  Ger- 
many as  great  in  extent  as  twice  the  breadth,  of  the 
country  inhabited  by  the  Franks  and  equal  to  it  in 
length  :  beside  these,  the  two  Pannonias,  Dacia, 
Istria,  Croatia  and  Dalmatia  :  and,  finally,  all  the 
territory  of  those  savage  nations  lying  between  the 
Danube,  the  Vistula  and  the  Ocean." 

Charlemagne  endeavored  to  change  the  names  of 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  103 

the  twelve  months  of  the  year:  the  effort  was  abor- 
tive, but  it  is  remarkable  that  one  thousand  years 
afterward  the  National  Convention  of  France  made 
the  same  attempt  with  the  same  success.  It  is  also 
singular  that  the  names  adopted  by  Charlemagne 
and  the  Convention  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to 
each  other  —  though  it  is  by  no  means  probable  that 
Romme  and  Fabre  d'Eglantine  (the  authors  of  the 
revolutionary  calendar  of  the  ISth  century)  had  any 
knowledge  of  the  Germanic  calendar  of  the  ninth 
century.  The  following  table  shows  the  whole  at  a 
glance. 

Revolution.  Charlemagne. 

January Ventose,    Windy  Month,      Wintermonath,  Month  of  Winter. 

February..  .Pluviose,   Rainy  Month,      Hornunc,  Month  of  Mud. 

March Germinal,  Budding  Month,   Lenzmonath,      Month  of  Spring. 

April Floreal,      Flowery  Month,  Ostermonath,     Month  of  Easter. 

May Prairial,      Meadow  Month,  Minnemonath,    Month  of  Love. 

June Messidor,    Harvest  Month,   Prahmonath,      Month  of  Sun. 

July Thermidor,  Hot  Month,  Heumonath,        Month  of  Hay. 

August Fructidor,  Fruit  Month,        Arndmonath,      Month  of  Harvest. 

Sept Vendimiaire,  Vintage  Month,  Windemmonath,  Month  of  Winds. 

October.... Brumaire,  Foggy  Month,  Windeminonath,Month  of  Vintage. 
November.Frimaire,  Sleety  Month,  Herbstmonath,  Month  of  Autumn. 
December.Nivose,       Snowy  Month,    Helmonath,         Month  of  Death. 

These  names  in  the  latter  column  have  a  barba- 
rous sound,  and  corroborate  what  has  been  asserted 
as  to  Charlernagrie's  having  been  thoroughly  Ger- 
man. They  were  in  use  among  several  nations,  and 
particularly  among  the  Anglo-Saxons ;   and  Eginhard 


104  THE    FRANK     MONARCHY. 

Styles  them  national  names  :  *  in  point  of  nationality, 
therefore,  the  conquest  was  German. 

As,  previously,  in  the  case  of  Caesar,  and,  subse- 
quently, in  the  case  of  Napoleon,  a  series  of  unlucky 
omens  now  announced  to  the  world  the  termination 
of  this  mighty  Emperor's  career.  "  Many  prodigies," 
says  Eginhard,  "  were  remarked  at  the  approach  of 
the  King's  decease ;  and  he,  as  well  as  others, 
regarded  them  as  supernatural  warnings  address  ad 
personally  to  himself  During  the  last  three  years 
of  his  life,  there  were  frequent  eclipses  of  the  sun 
and  moon  :  for  seven  days  in  succession  a  black  spot 
was  visible  on  the  sun's  disk  :  the  gallery  which  Karl 
had  constructed,  at  great  expense,  to  connect  the 
cathedral  and  the  palace,  crumbled  to  its  very  foun- 
dation on  Ascension-day  :  the  wooden  bridge  which 
he  had  built  across  the  Rhine  at  Mayence  —  a  won- 
derful specimen  of  architectural  skill ;  the  fruit  of 
ten  years'  immense  labor,  and  which  seemed  destined 
to  endure  for  ever  —  was  suddenly  consumed  by  fire 
in  the  short  space  of  three  hours,  and  not  a  vestige 
of  it  remained  excejjt  what  was  under  the  water. 
At  the  time  of  his  last  expedition  into  Saxony, 
against  Godfred,  King  of  the  Danes.t  Karl,  having 


*  Among  the  Franks,  the  months  before  his  day  had  names 
half  Latin  and  half  barbarian  :  Karl  gave  them  national  names. 
—  Eginhard,  Vila  Caroli  Magni. 

t  In  810. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  105 

left  his  tent  before  the  sun  rose  and  commenced  his 
march,  saw  an  enormous  light  fall  suddenly  from  the 
sky,  and,  in  a  breathless  atmosphere,  flare  alternately 
to  the  right  and  left ;  while  the  army  were  admiring 
this  prodigy,  and  wondering  what  it  presaged,  the 
Emperor's  horse  fell  head-foremost  to  the  ground, 
and  so  violently  precipitated  his  rider  to  the  earth, 
that  the  clasp  of  his  cloak  was  torn  off  and  his 
sword-belt  broken,  and  he  was  unable  to  rise  with- 
out the  assistance  of  his  followers,  who  disencum- 
bered him  of  his  arms ;  the  javelin,  which  he  chanced 
to  have  in  his  hand,  was  thrown  forward  more  than 
twenty  feet  from  the  spot  where  he  fell.  The  palace 
at  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  shaken  by  violent  trembling 
of  the  earth,  and  the  ceilings  of  the  apartments  occu- 
pied by  the  King  were  heard  to  crack.  The  mys- 
terious fire  from  heaven  fell  on  the  cathedral  where 
he  was  afterward  buried  ;  and  the  golden  ball  that 
decorated  the  pinnacle  of  the  roof,  struck  by  the 
flash,  was  broken  and  scattered  over  the  house  of 
the  bishop,  which  was  contiguous  to  the  church.  In 
this  church,  on  the  border  of  the  cornice,  between 
the  higher  and  lower  arcades,  was  an  inscription  to 
the  founder  of  the  edifice,  in  the  last  line  of  which 
were  the  words,  Carolus  princeps.  It  was  remarked, 
a  few  months  before  the  Emperor's  decease,  that  the 
letters  composing  the  word  princejys  were  so  effaced 
as  to  be  scarcely  legible.  Karl-le-grand  testified  no 
fear  at  these  portents  from  above,  and  despised  them 


106  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

as  much    as   if  they   had   no    connexion    with  his 
destiny." 

Charlemagne  died  on  the  twenty-eighth  of  Janu- 
ary, 814,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  day,  in  the  seventy- 
second  year  of  his  age,  and  the  forty -seventh  of  his 
reign.  As  he  left  no  directions  concerning  his  burial, 
it  Avas  a  matter  of  debate  where  h's  remains  should 
be  deposited.  At  length,  the  magnificent  chapel 
which  he  had  built  at  Aix  and  placed  under  the  invo- 
cation of  the  Virgin,  was  chosen  for  his  last  and  per- 
petual palace.  He  was  lowered  into  one  of  its 
vaults,  drest  in  the  hair-cloth  vest,  which  he  always 
wore,  surmounted  with  his  imperial  robes.  His 
famous  sword,  Joyeuse,  was  belted  around  him ; 
with  which  blade,  say  the  chronicles  of  St.  Denis,  he 
once  cleft  an  armed  knight  in  twain.  He  was  placed 
on  a  marble  throne,  his  crown  on  his  head,  the  Bible 
on  his  knees,  and  the  sceptre  and  buckler  of  gold  — 
blessed  by  Pope  Leo  —  under  his  feet.  A  precious 
chain  hung  around  his  neck  to  v/hich  was  suspended 
an  emerald  that  enclosed  a  piece  of  the  true  Cross.* 
A  royal  mantle  was  thrown  over  his  shoulders,  and 
the  pilgrim's  scrip,  which  he  was  accustomed  to 
carry  on  his  journeys  to  Rome,  was  attached  to  his 


*  This  chain  and  emerald  were  in  the  possession  of  Ilortense, 
Duchess  of  St.  Leu.  They  were  given  to  her  by  Napoleon, 
who  recei\eJ  them  as  tribute,  from  the  inhabitants  of  Aix-la- 
Chapelle. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  107 

girdle.  The  sepulchre,  paved  with  pieces  of  gold, 
was  perfumed ;  the  bronze  door  was  closed  and 
masoned  over  ;  and  a  triumphal  arch  was  erected  on 
the  spot,  bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  Under  this  stone  lies  the  body  of  Karl,  the  great 
and  orthodox  Emperor,  who  nobly  aggrandized  the 
kingdom  of  the  Franks,  reigned  happily  forty-seven 
years,  and  died  a  septuagenarian  on  the  fifth  of 
the  Calends  of  February  in  the  eight  hundred  and 
fourteenth  year  of  the  incarnation  of  our  Lord,  at  the 
seventh  Indiction." 

Hlodo-wig  or  Lud-wig  I.  —  (Louis  L)  surnamed 
the  Debonnaire,  son  of  Charlemagne,  succeeded  to 
the  Empire.  In  conformity  to  the  commands  of  his 
father,  he  refused  to  submit  either  to  consecration  or 
election.  He  took  the  hereditary  crown  from  the 
altar,  and  with  his  own  hands  placed  it  on  his  head, 
demonstrating,  by  that  act,  that  he  had  his  authority 
from  God  alone,  and  acknowledged  no  fealty  but  to 
his  Creator.  This  instance  of  energetic  action, 
however,  seems  to  have  exhausted  him.  The  colos- 
sal empire  of  Charlemagne  slipped  from  his  feeble 
grasp  into  dismembered  provinces,*  and  his  succes- 
sors divided  it  into  nine  separate  kingdoms,  viz. : 
Neustria,  Austrasia,  Germany,  Italy,  Lorraine,  Cis- 
jurane-Burgundy,  Transjurane-Burgundy,  Brittany, 

*  We  shall  hereafter  examine  the  causes  of  this  dismember- 
ment. 


108  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

and  NavaiTe.  His  reign  was  but  a  series  of  revolts 
and  civil  wars.  His  sons,  by  his  first  man'iage,  were 
Hlot-her,  (Lothaire  I.),  Peppin,  and  Hlodo-wig. 
The  first  was  associated  with  his  father  in  the 
empire;  the  others,  created,  severally,  Kings  of 
Aquitania  and  Bavaria,  refused  to  admit  Karl-le- 
Chauve  (Charles  the  Bald)  —  a  son  by  a  second  mar- 
riage —  to  a  participation  of  power.  They  twice 
took  arms  against  their  father  and  twice  dethroned 
hun.  Hlot-her  then  made  him  prisoner  and  carried 
him  in  his  train  from  Rolfeld  to  Marlem,  from  Mar- 
lem  to  Metz,  and  from  Metz  to  Soissons,  where  he 
incarcerated  him  in  the  Monastery  of  St.  Medard  ; 
he  then  took  from  him  the  young  Karl,  his  son,  and 
sent  him  to  the  abbey  of  Prum  in  the  forest  of 
Ardennes. 

But  the  three  brothers  soon  quarrelled  with  each 
other.  Peppin  and  Hlodo-wig,  alarmed  at  the 
ambition  of  Hlot-her,  leagued  together  against  him, 
delivered  their  father  from  bondage,  and  reinstated 
him  upon  the  throne,  Hlot-her  marched  against 
his  father  a  third  time  ;  but  in  this  instance,  he  was 
defeated,  himself  made  prisoner,  and,  by  his  father's 
great  clemency,  was  banished  to  Italy.  Soon  after 
this,  Peppin,  King  of  Aquitania,  died ;  and  the 
Emperor,  despoiling  his  grandchildren  (Peppin's 
sons)  in  favor  of  his  son,  gave  the  whole  of  southern 
and  western  France  to  Kai*l-le-Chauve.  He 
restricted  Hlodo-wig,  who  murmured  at  this  division, 


THE    FRANK    MONAUCHY.  109 

to  Bavaria  only ;  added  a  few  provinces  to  the 
dominions  of  Hlot-her  and  made  him  swear  to  be  a 
faithful  guardian  to  young  Karl  (the  Bald)  who  was 
his  half-brother. 

Hlodo-wig,  indignant  at  the  partiality  shown  to 
his  brothers,  revolted  against  his  father's  authority  ; 
but  the  Emperor  marched  toward  him,  and  by  his 
presence  alone  dispersed  the  rebel  army,  without 
striking  a  blow.  He  forbore,  however,  to  punish 
him  with  severity,  as  he  had  previously  forborne  in 
the  case  of  Hlot-her.  Immediately  after  this  he 
fell  sick,  panic-struck  by  the  appearance  of  two  suc- 
cessive comets,  followed  by  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  so 
total  that  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  stars 
were  as  distinctly  visible  as  at  midnight.  He  subse- 
quently died  of  inanition  on  an  island  of  the  Rhine, 
near  Mayence,  having  taken,  for  forty  days,  no  other 
nourishment  than  the  sacramental  emblems  of  the 
Lord's  supper.* 

Hlodo-wig-le-Debonnaire  was  the  first  Frank 
King  who  cultivated  the  sciences.  He  studied 
astronomy  under  -an  Arabian  professor,  spoke  the 
Latin,  and  understood  the  Greek.  The  beautiful 
cathedral  of  Rheims  was  built  during  his  reign  ;  to 
which  reign,  also,  the  several  ordeals  of  water,  fire, 
and  the  Cross  owe  their  institution.  About  this 
period,  the  Normans  disembarked   and  established 


*  Vita  Ludovici  pii. 
10 


110  THE    FRANK   MONARCHY. 

themselves  on  that  part  of  Neustria  to  which,  at  a 
later  period,  they  gave  their  name. 

Thus  the  second  race  had  hardly  reached  its  third 
generation,  when  the  foundations  of  its  power  were 
undermined.  The  Carolingian  monarchy,  young 
under  Peppin,  and  mature  under  Charlemagne,  was 
already  superannuated  under  Hlodo-wig-le-Debon- 
naire.* 


*  We  continue  the  orthography  of  the  names  of  the  first  race,' 
because  our  task,  as  historian,  is  yet  with  the  Franks,  and  not 
the  French,  The  Germanic  idiom,  up  to  this  time,- was  the 
court-language,  and  the  Latin  itself  had  not  yet  despoiled  the 
word  Hludovicus  of  the  H  of  its  original  orthography. 

The  following  curious  acrostic  —  which  serves  as  a  prologue 
to  the  poem  of  Ermold  Le  Noir  —  will  be  a  proof  to  our  readers 
of  what  we  advance.  In  881 — forty  years  after  the  acrostic 
was  written — a  song,  the  first  two  lines  of  which  we  subjoin, 
wag  composed  in  honor  of  Lud-wig,  surnamed  the  Stammerer. 
It  was  written,  evidently,  in  German  ;  and  the  word  Lud-wig 
appears  to  us  clearly  to  indicate  the  intermediate  transition 
from  Hlodo-wig  to  Louis ; 

Einen  konig  wrez  ich 
Heisset  herr  Ludwig. 


Un  roi  je  connais, 

II  se  nomme  le  seigneur  Ludwig. 

AuGUSTiN  Thierry. 

But  to  return  to  Ermold :  ---  [This  acrostic  is  more  curious  than 
M.  Dumas'  remarks  upon  it  would  lead  the  reader  to  suppose : 
for  the  author,  with  surprising  ingenuity,  has  made  the  last 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  Ill 

Karl-le-Chauve  ascended  the  throne  in  840,  and 
no  sooner  had  he  done  so,  than  Hlot-her,  disregard- 
ing his  oath  of  guardiansliip  to  his  father,  assembled 
an  army  and  marched  into  Burgundy.     Karl  imme- 

letter  of  each  line  the  same  as  the  first:  so  that  it  i*  n  double 
or  compound  acrostic] 

ermoldi'nigelli  prologus. 

E-ditor  aethereA  splendes  qui  patris  in  arc E 

R-egnator  mundi,  fautorque,  redemptor  et  aucto  . . . .  R 

M-ilitibus  dignis  reseras  qui  regna  poloru M 

O-lim  conclusos  culpft  parientis  Avern O 

L-uminis  seterni  revehis  qui,  Christe,  tribuna L 

D-avid  psahnicanuB  prajsaga  carminis  illu D 

V-oce  prius  modulans  dudum  miranda  relat V 

S-acra  futurorum  qui  prompsit  carmina  vate S 

C-onfer  rusticulo  qui  possim  Ccesaris  in  ho C 

E-ximii  exiguo  modulanter  poscito  rit E 

C-armine  gesta  loqui.    Nymphas  non  deprecor  istu . .  C 

I-nsani  quodam  ut  prisci  fescere  perit I 

N-ec  rogo  Pierides,  nee  Phoebi  tramite  lime N 

I-ngrediar  capturus  opem,  nee  Apollinis  aim I 

T-alia  cum  fascerent,  quos  vana  pueritia  lusi T 

H-orridus  et  teter  depressit  corda  Vehemot H 

L-imina  siderei  potius  peto  luminis  ut  so L 

V-erus  justiticc  dignetur  dona  precat V 

D-edere :  namque  mihi  non  flagito  versibus  hoc  quo . .  D 

O-rania  gestorum  percurram  pectine  parv O 

I-n  quibus  et  magni  possunt  cessare  magistr I 

C-sesaream  flectam  aciem,  sed  cantibus  hsec  hu C 

I-ncipiam  celebrare.    Fa ve  modo,  Christe,  precant , .  I 


112  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

diately  formed  an  alliance  with  his  brother  Hlodo- 
wig  of  Bavaria,  to  defend  his  crown  and  punish  the 
perjured  King.  The  hostile  forces  met  at  Fontehay, 
on  the  twenty-fifth  of  June,  841 ;  and,  after  a  furi- 
ous contest,  Karl  and  Hlodo-wig  obtained  a  decisive 
victory.  Hlot-her  abandoned  his  dominions  to  the 
conquerors,  who  divided  them  between  themselves  5 
but  afterward  they  restored  him  to  his  throne,  on  his 
making  conciliatory  advances.  This  peace,  however, 
brought  about  a  new  division  of  the  kingdom  ;  Hlot- 
her  soliciting  from  his  brothers  a  portion  of  temtory 
besides  his  own,  on  account  of  the  title  of  Emperor, 
conferred  on  him  by  his  father.* 

The  partition  was  therefore,  eventually,   as  fol- 


C-armina  me  exilio  pro  quis  nunc  principis  ab  ho. ..  C 

A-uxilium  miserando  level  qui  celsus  in  aul A 

E-rigit  abjoctos,  parcit  peccantibua,  atqu E 

S-pargit  in  immensum  clari  vice  lumina  soli S 

A-lta  regis  Christi  princeps  qui  maxime  sceptr A 

R-ex  Hludovice  pie,  et  pietatis  munera  Ccesa R 

I-nsignis  meriti,  praeclarus  dogmate  Christ I 

S-uscipe  gratanter  profert  quae  dona  Nigellu S 

A-usubus  acta  tamen  qui  tangere  carmine  vestr ....  A 

R-egis  ob  ajterni  vestro  qui  pectore  sempe R 

M-ansit  amor,  Ccesar,  famulum  relevato  cadente . . .  M 

A-ltitonans  Christus  vos  quo  sublim'et  in  sethr A 

*  Si  vellent  aliquid  illi  supra  tertiam  partem  regni,  propter 
nomen  imperatoris  quod  illi  pater  eorum  concesserat,  et  propter 
dignitatem  imperii  quam  avus  regno  Francorum  adjeceratj  au- 
gere,  facerent.  —  Nithardi  historia. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  113 

lows  :  Karl  took  that  part  of  Gaul  westward  of  the 
Scheldt,  the  Meuse,  the  Saone  and  the  Rhone,  with  the 
northern  part  of  Spain  down  to  the  line  of  the  Ebro: 
that  is,  all  of  modern  France  excepting  Lorraine, 
Franche-Comte,  Dauphiny,  and  Provence,  with  the 
addition  of  Navarre.  Lud-wig,*  those  states  speali- 
ing  the  Teutonic  language  from  the  Rhine  to  the 
Alps ;  that  is,  the  empire  of  Germany  bounded  by 
Hungary,  Bohemia,  Moravia  and  Prussia.  And 
Lot-her,  in  addition  to  Italy,  took  the  eastern  part  of 
Gaul  comprised,  on  the  South,  between  the  Rhone 
and  the  Alps  —  on  the  North,  between  the  Rhine 
and  the  Meuse — and  between  the  Meuse  and  the 
Scheldt  as  far  as  the  mouths  of  those  rivers.t  It  was 
this  long  band  of  territoty,  containing  four  nations 
speaking  four  different  languages,  and  taken  partly 
from  the  Frank  kingdom  and  partly  from  the  Ger- 
man empire,  that  the  two  brothers,  Karl  and  Lud- 
wig,  consented  to  attach,  as  a  train,  to  the  imperial 
mantle  of  Lot-her. 

This  same  band  of  territory,  however,  was  so 
slightly  attached  to  the  imj^erial  mantle — Italy  — 
that  it  parted  from  it  by  its  own  weight,  and  became 
a  little  kingdom  by  itself.  It  was  called  Lot-her- 
Rike,f  from  Lot-her;  and,  from  his  children,  Lot- 


*  From  this  time,  the  orthography  of  Hlodo-wig  was  perma- 
nently changed  to  Lvxd-wig ;  as  also  that  of  Hlot-her  to  Lot-her. 
t  Augustin  Thierry, 
t  Kingdom  of  Lot-her. 
10* 


114  THE    FRANK    M0NAKCH7, 

heringe-Rike  ;  *  a  term  of  which  Latin  authors  have 
made  Lotharingia,  and:we,  Lorraine. 

After  this  great  partition,  we  find,  for  the  first  time, 
in  the  MSS.  of  a  monk  of  St.  Gall,  the  word  France 
used  in  nearly  the  same  acceptation  as  we  now  use 
it.  "  At  the  conclusion  of  this  division  of  territory," 
says  he,  "  there  was  a  division  of  name :  Gaul,  of 
which  the  Franks  had  taken  possession,  was  called 
New  France ;  and  Germany,  whence  they  came^ 
Old  France."t 

Should  the  reader  desire  to  see  a  specimen  of  the 
language  spoken  in  New  France  at  this  period,  he 
need  but  examine  the  two  following  quotations  :  the 
first  is  taken  from  the  idiom  of  the  North  of  France, 
i.  e.  the  conquering  nation ;  and  the  other,  from  that 
of  the  South,  or  conquered  nation. 

Oath  of  coalition  against  Lot-her,  pronounced  in  the 
Frank,  or  Teutonic  tongue,  previous  to  the  battle  of 
Fontenay  :\ 

In  godes  minna  ind  um  tes  christianes  folches  ind 
unser  bedher  gealtnissi  fon  thesemo  dage  frammor- 
des,  so  fram  so  mir  Got  gewizei  indi  mahd  furgibit,  so 


*  Kingdom  of  the  heirs  of  Lot-her. 

+  Francia,  quae  dicitur  nova,  Francia,  quae  dicitur  antiqua. 
—  MoNACHUs  Gai^lensi's. 

t  Nithard.  History  of  the  dissensions  of  the  sons  of  Louis- 
le-Debonnaire. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  115 

hald  ih  tesan  minan  Bruodher,  soso  man  mit  rehtu 
sinan  Bruder  seal,  intliiu  thaz  ennig  soso  ma  duo  ; 
indi  mit  Lutheren  inno  Kleinnin  thing  ne  geganga  . 
zhe  minait  wilion  imo  ce  scanden  werden. 

The  same  oath,  jyronounced  hy  Hlodo-wig,  in  Gal- 
lic, or  the  Romance  Language : 

Pro  Deo  amur  et  prochristian  poblo  et  nostro 
commun  salvament,  dist  di  in  avant  in  quant  Deus 
savir  et  podir  me  dunat,  si  salvarai  eo  cist  meon 
fradre  Karlo,  et  en  adjudha,  et  in  cadhuna  cosa,  si 
com  om  perdreit  son  fradre  salvar  dist,  in  o  quid  il 
mi  alae  si  fazet  et  ab  Lud-her  nul  plaid  nunquam 
prendrai,  qui  meon  vol  cist  fradre  Karle  in  damno  sit. 

French  tra7islation  of  the  oath  : 

Pour  I'amour  de  Dieu  et  pour  le  peuple  chretien, 
et  notre  commun  salut  de  ce  jour  et  en  avant,  en 
tant  que  Dieu  me  donnera  de  savoir  et  de  pouvoir, 
je  soutiendrai  mon  frere  Karl  ici  present,  par  aide 
eten  toute  chose,  comme  il  est  juste  qu'on  soutienne 
son  frere,  et  jamais  avec  Lot-her  je  ne  ferai  aucun 
accord  qui,  de  ma  volonte,  soit  prejudiciable  a  mon 
frere. 

And,  in  English : 

For  the  love  of  God,  and  for  the  sake  of  this 
Christian  people  —  as,  also,  for  the  common  weal, 
from  this  time  forward  —  according  to  the  wisdom 


116  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

and  strength  that  God  shall  give  me,  I  will  sustain 
my  brother  Karl,  here  present,  by  aid  and  all  things 
else  with  which  it  is  fitting  that  one  should  assist  his 
brother ;  and  I  will  never,  willingly,  make  compact 
with  Lot-her  which  may  be  prejudicial  to  my 
brother. 

In  addition  to  these  two  languages,  there  was'still 
another  used  in  France  —  the  pure  Celtic* 

The  people  enclosed  in  this  cradle  of  growing 
France,  and  who,  with  the  Normans,  were  to  com- 
pose the  French  nation,  were  the  Roman-Gauls ; 
the  Burh-Gunds,  or  Burgundians ;  the  West-Goths, 
or  Visigoths ;  the  Vascons,  or  Gascons ;  the  Bretons ; 
and  the  Franks. 

While  this  great  revolution  was  in  progress,  the 
Normans  prepared  to  establish  themselves  on  tbe 
shores  of  France.  They  were,  however,  no  longer 
a  few  wandering  pirates,  prowling  privily  about  the 
Neustrian  ocean  j  but  a  navy  of  six  hundred  sail, 
bearing  a  King,  generals,  and  anarmy.  They  sepa- 
rated their  forces  into  two  grand  divisions,  and  one 
ascended  the  Loire  as  far  as  Nantes  and  occupied 
Guyenne,  Anjou  and  Touraine ;  while  the  other 
entered  the  Seine  with  tbe  tide,  surprised  and  sacked 
Rouen,  and  advanced  to  Paris.  They  found  the 
city  defenceless;  Karl  having  abandoned  it  in  terror, 


*  In  vero  Celtice,  vel,  si  mavis,  Gallice  loquere.  —  Sulpice 
Severe. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  117 

and  fortified  himself  at  St.  Denis,  in  order  to  protect 
the  precious  relics  of  the  Apostle  of  France.  As 
the  Normans  approached,  Karl  proposed  a  negotia- 
tion for  peace,  which  the  pirates  granted  on  receiving 
seven  thousand  livres  of  silver.*  But  a  peace,  so 
obtained,  is  certain  to  be  of  short  duration ;  and  in 
this  case,  although  the  Normans  retired,  it  was  to 
return  again  in  greater  force. 

Meanwhile,  young  Peppin,  from  whom  Lud-wig- 
le-Debonnaire  had  wrested  a  crown  to  bestow  it  upon 
Karl,  formed  an  alliance  with  these  brigands,  and  the 
realm  was  soon  desolated  by  fire  and  sword.  A  new 
treaty  was  now  made  on  the  following  basis  :  a  con- 
tribution of  four  thousand  livres  was  to  be  provided 
by  the  Franks ;  and,  in  addition  to  this,  a  certain  sum 
was  to  be  paid  to  the  Norman  chiefs  for  every  Nor- 
man soldier  killed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  ; 
and  it  was  further  stipulated  that  the  Franks,  should 
seize  and  return  to  the  Normans  all  prisoners  who 
had  escaped,  without  ransom.  The  invaders  then 
retired  to  Jumieges  to  await  the  execution  of  the 
conditions  of  the  treaty. 

The  price  of  this  retreat,  for  the  country  beyond 
the  Loire  alone,  amounted  to  more  than  five  thou- 


*  Thelivre  (or  pound)  of  France,  in  the  time  of  Charlemagne, 
is  supposed  to  have  been  a  pound  tceight,  or  twelve  ounces,  of 
silver :  worth  about  thirteen  of  our  dollars.  The  present 
French  livre  is  worth  about  twenty  cents. 


118  THE    PRANK     MONARCHY. 

sand  livres.  Every  seigneurial  mansion,  whether  of 
Count,  bishop,  abbe,  or  vassal  of  the  King,  w^as  taxed 
one  sous  (i.  e.  the  twentieth  part  of  a  livre,  or  about 
sixty  cents  American  currency) ;  each  house  of  eight 
free  persons  was  taxed  eight  deniers ;  and  each 
house  of  a  serf,  four  deniers*  —  a  denier  is  the 
twelfth  part  of  a  sous. 

Some  lime  after,  another  army  of  these  barbarians 
united  with  the  Bretons  and  tooE  possession  of  Mans. 
They  were  eventually  repelled,  but  Rod-bertt-le- 
Fort,  Count  of  Paris,  and  great-grand-father  of 
Hug-Capet  I  [Hugh-Capet),  was  killed  in  the  action. 

The  Saracens,  also,  devastated,  by  partial  inva- 
sions, the  South  and  West  of  Italy.  Peppin  now 
caused  himself  to  be  recognised  King  of  Aquitania  5 
and  Nomenoe,  King  of  Brittany. 

The  Emperor  Lot-her  expired  about  the  same  time. 


*  Acta  conventus  carisiaci  in  capitul.  Caroli  Calvi.  —  The 
annals  of  St.  Berlin,  which  also  give  an  account  of  this  impost, 
differ  from  the  above  in  the  assessment  of  the  tax  :-^ "  Karl 
agreed  to  pay  the  Normans  four  thousand  livres  of  silver ;  and, 
to  raise  the  sum,  he  ordered  throughout  his  kingdom  a  levy  of 
six  deniers  upon  every  free  manor,  three  upon  every  servile 
manor,  one  upon  every  two  cottages,  one  upon  every  inhabit- 
ant, and  ten  upon  those  who  were  accounted  merchants." 

+  Brilliant  speaker. 

*  Provident.  As  at  the  time  when  Capet  ascended  the 
throne,  the  Romance  orthography  began  to  prevail,  we  shall 
hereafter  write,  Hugues,  instead  of  Hug, 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  119 

at  the  abbey  of  Prum,  having  divided  his  dominiong 
between  his  three  sons,  Lud-wig,  Lot-her,  and 
Karl.  Lud-wig  received  Italy  and  the  title  of 
Emperor.  Lot-her  obtained  that  part  conceded  by 
treaty  which  became  the  kingdom  of  Lorraine;  and 
Karl  took  possession  of  Burgundy  and  Provence. 
Lud-wig  died  in  875,  and  Karl-le-Chauve  imme- 
diately crossed  Mount  Cenis  with  an  army,  forced 
his  way  into  Italy  and  marched  directly  to  Rome. 
Here,  by  the  aid  of  enoi'mous  concessions  to  the 
Pope,  he  was  consecrated  Emperor.  He  died  two 
years  afterward  at  the  village  of  Brios,  in  a  peasant's 
hut ;  poisoned,  as  it  is  believed,  by  a  Jewish  physi- 
cian named  Sedecias.*  His  body  was  at  first  interred 
at  Nantua;  but  was  afterward  transported  to  St. 
Denis,  where  a  magnificent  tomb  was  erected  to  his 
memory  in  the  middle  of  the  choir  of  the  abbey. 
His  son,  Lud-wig  II.,  succeeded  him  in  877. 

His  short  reign  of  two  years  is  remarkable  only  for 
the  resuscitation  of  the  right  of  election  vested  in  the 
nobles,  who  repossessed  themselves  of  power  as  it 
escaped  from  the  weakened  hands  of  royalty. 
Lud-wig  was  proclaimed  King  by  means  of  conces- 


*  Karl,  being  oppressed  with  fever  and  thirst,  took  a  draught 
containing  a  powder  given  him  by  his  physician,  a  Jew  named 
Sedecias,  whom  he  befriended  and  confided  in  too  much.  It 
was  a  mortal  poison  that  he  swallowed,  —  Annals  of  St. 
Berlin, 


120  THE    PRANK    MONARCHY. 

sions  of  fiefs  and  grants  of  land  :  alienations  from 
the  royal  demesnes,  which,  passing  from  his  hands 
into  those  of  the  nobles,  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
national  feudal  system,  as  the  relinquishment  of  terri- 
tory belonging  to  the  children  of  Hlodo-wig  laid  the 
foundation,  as  we  have  seen,  for  the  feudalism  of  the 
Franks.  His  mother  brought  to  him  from  Italy  the 
sword  of  St.  Peter,  the  crown,  the-sceptre,  and  the 
imperial  mantle,  with  the  will  of  his  father  declaring 
him  successor  to  the  empire.  But  he  had  not  the 
courage  to  contend  for  his  hereditary  rights,  and 
Karl-mann,  eldest  son  of  Lud-wig  the  German,  pre- 
sented himself  for  election  and  bore  away  the  title  of 
Emperor. 

After  a  reign  of  but  little  more  than  eighteen 
months,  Lud-wig  II.  died  at  Compeigne  on  Good- 
Friday,  April  tenth,  879.*  Lud-wig  III.  and  Karl- 
mann,  although  his  sons  by  a  former  repudiated  wife, 
succeeded  him.  Karl  the  Simple,  his  youngest  son, 
was  born  shortly  after  his  death. 

The  young  princes,  neither  of  whom  was  more 
than  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age,  were  consecrated 
together  at  the  abbey  of  Ferriere,  and  they  divided 
between  them  their  father's  kingdom  in  conformity 
to  the  decision  of  their  subjects. 

The  Normans,  meanwhile,  continued  their  ravages. 
They  pillaged,  burnt  or  razed  to  the  ground,  on  one 

♦  Annals  of  St.  Berlin, 


THE    FRAiNK    MONARCHY.  121 

side,  Cambrai,  St.  Riguier,  St.  Valeiy,  Amiens, 
Corbie,  and  Arras:  and,  on  the  other  side,  Maes- 
tricht,  Liege,  Tongres,  Cologne,  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
and  Malmedi.  Lud-wig  III.  inarched  against  them, 
and  defeated  them  at  Saucourt,  in  Ponthieu,  with 
great  slaughter,  nine  thousand  barbarians  having  been 
left  on  the  field.  But  they  soon  rallied  on  the  banks 
of  the  Loire  and  were  again  defeated  at  Tours. 
While  Lud-wig,  after  the  battle,  was  making  his 
entrance  into  the  city,  his  attention  was  attracted  by 
a  young  girl  of  remarkable  beauty.  She  fled  at  his 
approach,  but  he  pursued  her,  on  horseback,  into  a 
narrow  street  when  his  steed  became  unmanageable 
and  dashed  with  him  through  an  arched  door  where 
the  maiden  had  disappeared.  His  forehead  here 
struck  against  the  arch  with  such  violence  that  he 
was  thrown  back  on  the  saddle  and  his  spine  was 
broken  by  the  fall.  He  died  of  the  injuries,  three 
days  after,  in  the  year  882.  Karl-mann  succeeded 
him  and  took  the  two  kingdoms  under  his  ovra  con- 
trol. 

About  the  same  time,  Karl-le-Gros  [Charles  the 
Fat)  succeeded  his  brother  Lud-wig  the  German,  as 
Emperor  of  the  West.  He  commenced  his  reign 
by  a  disgraceful  treaty  with  the  Normans, — who,  at 
that  period,  were  devastating  Germany  —  conceding 
to  them  the  territory  they  had  conquered,  on  the 
sole  condition  that  God-fred,  one  of  their  Dukes, 
should  embrace  the  Christian  faith  and  espouse  the 
11 


122  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

Princess  Ghiselle,  daughter  of  Lot-her.  This  was 
the  first  settlement,  sanctioned  by  treaty,  which  intro- 
duced these  barbarians  into  the  heart  of  Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  Karl-mann,  at  first  victorious 
over  the  Normans,  was  now,  in  turn,  defeated  by 
them ;  and  he  saved  his  provinces  from  pillage,  only 
by  paying  to  the  victors  the  sum  of  twelve  thousand 
livres  of  pure  silver.*  While  his  emissaries  were 
occupied  in  collecting  troops  for  a  new  campaign, 
he  was  mortally  wounded  in  the  thigh,  at  a  boar-hunt, 
by  one  of  those  fierce  animals  at  bay.t 

Karl,  the  posthumous  son  of  Lud-wig,  was  now 
only  seven  years  of  age.  But  as  the  energies  of  a 
full-grown  man  were  requisite  to  keep  the  Normans 
in  check  at  this  period,  the  nobles  refused  the  crown 
to  the  legitimate  heir  and  offered  it  to  Karl  III., 
surnamed  the  Fat,  who  repaired  at  once  to  Gonde- 
vrille,  near  Toul,  and  was  proclaimed  King  in  884. 


*  Immediately,  the  souls  of  these  avaricious  people  became  in- 
flamed with  the  love  of  money  ;  and,  having  exacted  twelve 
thousand  livres  of  pure  silver,  they  promised  to  preserve  peace 
for  twelve  years. — Annalcs  de  Meiz. 

t  Karl-mann  departed  for  the  chase  ;  at  which,  grievously 
wounded  by  a  boar,  he  lost  both  his  life  and  his  kingdom,  6th 
October,  884.  Some  say  he  was  wounded  by  one  of  his  follow- 
ers, who  carried  his  weapon  carelessly ;  and  as  the  deed  was 
committed  accidentally,  the  king  concealed  the  truth,  lest  the 
man,  being  innocent,  should  nevertheless  suffer  death. — Annales 
de  Melz. 


THE    FRANK   MONARCHIT.  123 

Thus  the  empire  and  kingdom  were  again  under 
the  control  of  one  man,  as  they  had  formerly  been 
when  the  son  of  Peppin  swayed  the  sceptre :  but 
now  the  Emperor  was  Charles  the  Fat  instead  of 
Charles  the  Great,  (Charlemagne.) 

The  Normans,  having  possessed  themselves  of  the 
money  which  was  the  price  and  object  of  their  treaty, 
awaited  only  a  plausible  pretext  to  violate  it :  and 
this  pretext  was  soon  supplied  by  the  assassination 
of  God-fred,  who  was  slain  at  the  island  of  Betau, 
by  order  of  Karl.  They  promptly  collected  their 
forces  to  the  number  of  forty  thousand,  and  under 
the  command  of  Sighe-fred  burned  Pontoise  and 
laid  siege  to  Paris. 

This  city,  at  the  period  in  question,  occupied  only 
the  little  oblong  island  in  the  centre  of  the  present 
metropolis  now  styled  Isle-de-la  Cite.  Two  bridges, 
thrown  across  the  two  opposite  arms  of  the  river, 
formed  the  means  of  access  to  the  town.  One  of 
these  bridges  was  constructed  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Pont-au-Change  ;  and  the  other,  on  that  of 
the  Petit-Pont ;  they  were  defended  by  two  large 
stone  towex's,*  and  Eudes,  or  Ode,t  Count  of  Paris, 

*  A  charming  isle  possesses  thee,  (Paris):  the  river  surrounds 
thy  walls,  its  arms  embrace  thee,  and  its  soft  waves  glide  under 
the  bridges  that  lead  to  thee  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left. 
On  either  extremity  of  these  bridges,  and  beyond  the  river,  pro- 
tecting towers  guard  thee.  —  Abbon,  Siege  of  Paris  by  the 
Normans. 

t  Generous, 


124  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

who  was  afterward  King  of  France,  placed  him- 
self at  the  head  of  the  inhabitants  to  sustain  the 
siege. 

The  Normans  pressed  their  assault  with  the  aid 
of  warlike  machines  almost  unknown  to  the  Franks.* 
These  were  balistas,  for  hurling  stones ;  galleries 
of  approach,  which,  by  their  double  roof,  protected 
the  besiegers ;  battering  rams,  intended  to  crush  in 
the  walls  with  their  heads  of  iron ;  and  fire  ships, 
floating  with  the  current,  that  lit  up  a  conflagration 
wherever  they  gi'ounded.  The  besieged,  on  their 
part,  accomplished  wonders  in  defence.  The  Bishop 
Gozlin,  especially,  animated  the  garrison  by  his 
exhortations  and  example.  He  planted  a  large 
cross  on  the  ramparts,  under  the  shadow  of  which  he 
fought,  with  aiTows  or  battle  axe,  every  day  for  the 
year  and  a  half  that  the  siege  continued.! 

At  length,  Karl-le-Gros  determined  to  march  in 
person  to  the  aid  of  Paris,  which  had  made  such  a 
valiant  defence.     And   one  morning,  the    besieged 


♦  The  Danes  fabricated — astonishing  truth  ! — three  machines, 
mounted  on  sixteen  wheels  of  enormous  size,  made  with  im- 
mense chains  and  bound  together.  On  each  was  placed  a  bat- 
tering-ram covered  with  a  raised  roof:  in  the  cavities  of  their 
centres  and  in  the  area  of  their  sides,  it  is  said  that  they  could 
conceal  sixty  armed  men  with  their  helmets.  —  Abbon. 

+  There,  however,  many  nobles  and  brave  men  made  them- 
selves conspicuous;  above  all,  the  prelate  Gozlin  shone  the 
brightest.  —  Ibid. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  125 

were  surprised  to  behold  the  summit  of  Mont-des- 
Marlyrs*  crowned  with  the  Emperor's  army. 

He  had  arrived,  however,  not  to  compel,  but  to 
purchase,  a  truce  ;  he  came  to  treat  and  not  to  fight ; 
and  this  second  treaty,  like  the  first,  was  to  be  moi'e 
humiliating  and  disastrous  than  a  defeat. 

The  Normans  raised  the  siege  on  receiving  seven 
hundred  livres  of  silver,  and  the  privilege  of  free 
quarters  for  the  winter  in  Burgundy  —  where  they 
retired  and  committed  fearful  depredations. 

These  two  successive  proofs  of  weakness  in  Karl, 
satisfied  the  nobles  that  he  was  unworthy  to  rule  so 
mighty  an  empire.  They  therefore  deposed  him, 
and  he  died  in  misery  at  a  monastery  situated  near 
the  extremity  of  the  little  island  of  Reicheneau,  on 
lake  Constance.t 

Our  readers  will  recollect  the  epitaph  of  Charle- 
magne;  we  subjoin  that  of  his  successor  in  the  fifth 
degree  :  — 

"  Kai'1-le-Gros,  nephew  of  Karl-le-Grand,  entered 
with  great  power  into  Italy  and  conquered  it.  He 
obtained  the    empire    and  was   crowned   Caesar  at 


*  Now,  Montmartre. 

t  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake,  and  on  the  declivity  of  the 
mountain,  the  pretty  chateau  of  Arenberg  is  visible  from  the 
gate  of  this  monastery.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  Duchess  of 
St.  Leu  —  another  dethroned  majesty  ;  but  one  who  was  never 
so  truly  a  queen  as  since  she  has  been  only  a  woman. 
li* 


126  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

Rome.  After  this,  his  brother,  Lud-wig,  of  Ger- 
many being  dead,  he  became,  by  right  of  inheritance, 
master  of  Germany  and  Gaul.  At  length,  failing  in 
heart,  genius  and  body,  a  turn  of  fortune  hurled  him 
from  the  summit  of  this  great  empire  into  this 
obscure  reti'eat,  where  he  died,  abandoned  by  all  his 
kindred,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  888." 

The  deposition  of  Karl-le-Gros  was  nothing  more 
or  less  than  a  reaction  of  the  national  spirit  against 
foreign  influence.  His  want  of  energy  —  disrepu- 
table to  himself  and  to  the  people  who  had  elevated 
him  to  the  sovereign  power  —  was  the  pretext,  but 
not  the  motive,  for  his  dethronement.  By  the  new 
partition  that  we  have  designated,  Finance  became  a 
distinct  kingdom  and  perceived,  at  once,  the  possi- 
bility and  the  necessity  of  escaping  from  the  German 
yoke.  So  long  as  the  throne  was  filled  by  a  King  of 
the  Frank  race,  this  escape  did  not  seem  feasible : 
but  now,  the  lords  —  whose  territorial  possessions, 
conceded  by  the  German  dynasty,  attached  them  to 
the  soil  of  France — took  part  with  the  soil  against 
the  dynasty,  banished  the  legitimate  heir,  Karl-le- 
Simple,*  and,  in  his  stead,  placed  on  the  throne 
Eudes,t  Count  of  Paris,  the  valiant  defender  of  that 
city  so  basely  abandoned  by  Karl-le-Gros.  An 
entire  revolution,  therefore,  took  place.  The  descend- 


*  Carolus  Simplex —  Stultus  —  Sottus. 

+  Son  of  Rod-bert,  the   Strong,   who,   as  we  have  before 
related,  was  killed  by  a  Norman  arrow  at  the  siege  of  Mans. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  127 

ants  of  the  Carolingian  race  were  expelled  as  anti- 
national,  the  heir  to  the  crown  was  dispossessed,  and 
a  man  of  another  race  was  called  to  the  throne. 

Karl-le-Simple  now  did,  what  Kings  who  are  no 
longer  wanted  generally  do — he  applied  to  a  foreign 
power  for  aid.  He  appealed  to  the  Emperor  Eren- 
hulf,*  with  the  determination,  since  he  could  not  be 
elected  by  the  free  will  of  the  lords,  to  be  imposed 
upon  them  by  force  of  arms.  Eren-hulf,  aware  that 
with  the  expulsion  of  Karl  all  pretext  of  authority 
over  France  would  escape  his  grasp,  took  the  exiled 
monarch  under  his  pi'otection,  convened  a  public 
assembly  at  Worms,  and  commanded  the  prelates  and 
Counts  to  unite  their  exertions  in  oixler  to  reinstate 
Karl  upon  the  throne. 

Warned  by  these  menacing  demonstrations,  Eu- 
des  prepared  for  a  vigorous  defence ;  though  he 
was  obliged,  at  the  same  time,  to  make  head  against 
the  Normans.  But,  say  the  annals  of  Metz,  "  he 
was  a  valiant  and  skilful  man,  surpassing  all  others 
in  beauty  of  face,  height  of  stature,  greatness  of 
sti'ength,  and  profundity  of  wisdom." 

The  Normans  invaded  France ;  but  they  were 
vanquished.     Karl,  the  Pretender,  was  also  repulsed. 

Eren-hulf,  however,  did  not  abandon  his  project, 
for  he  was  aware  of  the  advantage  he  could  derive 


♦Eminently  helpful.       In   Latin,  Arnolphus;    in    modern 
French,  Arnoult;  and,  in  English,  Arnold,  or  Arnulph. 


128  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

from  the  fact  of  having  so  important  a  vassal  as  the 
'Frank  King.  Nevertheless,  he  dared  not  openly 
declare  himself  against  Eudes,  who,  in  that  case, 
would  probably  resort  to  invasion  in  the  place  of 
a  defensive  war.  He  therefore  affected  to  have 
renounced  his  plans  in  regard  to  France,  but  labored 
privately,  at  the  same  time,  to  accomplish  Karl's  res- 
toration. 

For  this  purpose,  he  gave  the  kingdom  of  Lot-her,* 
which  was  on  the  frontier  of  France,  to  his  bastard 
son  Swinde-bald  ;t  who,  by  his  directions,  assembled 
a  large  army,  with  the  avowed  object  of  aiding  his 
father  in  his  projected  invasion  of  Italy.  But  after  his 
arrangements  were  completed,  he  took  advantage 
of  the  time  when  Eudes  was  engaged  with  the  Nor- 
mans, and  suddenly  invaded  France.  He  proceeded, 
without  molestation,  as  far  as  Laon,  and  laid  siege 
to  that  town. 

Eudes  immediately  drew  off  a  part  of  his  troops 
and  proceeded  to  Laon,  where,  however,  Swinde-bald 
did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  await  him,  but  retreated 
precipitately  into  Lorraine.  Eudes  then  made  a 
formal  and  imperative  demand  on  Eren-hulf  for  an 
acknowledgment  of  his  title  to  the  crown  of  France, 
which  the  Emperor  conceded. 

Karl  now  gave  up  all  hope  of  returning  to  France 


*  We  have  already  stated  that  this  kingdom  was  Lorraine, 
t  Active  and  bold. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  129 

during  the  life  of  Eutles :  and  as  the  latter  had 
no  children  he  waited  patiently  for  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  third  of  January,  898. 

From  this  moment,  Karl's  restoration  was  easy. 
The  Emperor  had  but  to  menace  the  frontier  with 
an  army,  when  the  national  party,  having  now  no 
rallying  point,  yielded  to  his  demand,  and  the  de- 
scendant of  the  German  race  of  Charlemagne  re- 
ascended  the  throne  of  his  fathers. 

Historians  generally  have  been  content  to  narrate 
the  occurrence,  simply,  of  these  various  revolutions  ; 
but,  from  what  we  have  now  recorded,  the  reader 
will  see  that  the  motives  and  causes  that  led  to  them 
are  equally  easy  to  be  ascertained.  Indeed,  we  have 
but  to  study  the  history  of  interests,  to  become  con- 
versant with  the  history  of  men. 

Karl  did  not  obtain  the  kingdom  of  France  with- 
out enormous  sacrifices.  Gratitude  induced  him  to 
inake  large  concessions  of  territory  to  his  partizans ; 
and  fear  compelled  him  to  adopt  the  same  course 
towards  those  who  opposed  his  elevation  to  the 
throne.  Each  noble,  then,  placing  himself  in  the 
centre  of  his  lands,  formed  a  sort  of  independent 
sovereignty  of  his  own  :  and  as  the  necessity  increa- 
sed that  each  should  resist,  with  his  own  forces,  the 
reiterated  invasions  of  the  Normans,  the  nobles,  by 
common  consent  organized,  at  their  own  cost,  disci- 
plined bands  of  troops,  containing  as  groat  a  num- 
ber as  their  fortunes  severally  would  permit.     From 


130  THE    FRANK     MONARCHY. 

this  time,  the  custom  of  levying  companies  of  hired 
soldiers  takes  its  date.  The  weaker  put  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  stronger.  He  who  pos- 
sessed but  a  castle  rendered  homage  to  him  who 
was  master  of  a  town ;  and  he  who  held  a  town,  to 
him  who  commanded  a  province  :  while  the  gov- 
ei'nors  of  provinces  held  office  directly  from  the 
King.  Thus  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  great 
feudal  government,  which  we  shall  find  completely 
organized  under  the  third  race. 

While  this  seigneurial  system — germ  of  the  future 
noblesse  —  was  establishing  itself  in  the  kingdom,  a 
Danish  exile,  named  Hrolf,*  collecting  together  all 
who  were  willing  to  attach  themselves  to  his  for- 
tunes, made  a  descent  upon  England,  where  he  won 
two  victories  :  thence,  he  again  put  to  sea  and 
landed  at  Frison,  which  he  compelled  to  become 
tributary  to  him,  He  then  made  a  descent  on  the 
north  of  France,  took  possession  of  Rouen  and  re- 
built its  walls  and  towers.  He  soon  converted  this 
town  into  a  formidable  fortress,  whence  he  made 
eruptions  sometimes  upon  England,  sometimes  upon 
Brittany,  and  sometimes  into  the  very  heart  of 
France. 

About   this  time,   a  great  clamor   from  all  sides 


*  In  the  Romance  language,  Rou  or  Roul,  whence  comes  the 
French  Raoul,  and  the  English  RoUd, 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  131 

saluted  the  ears  of  Karl.  Cries  of  distress  were 
heard  from  Clermont,  Mans,  Nantes,  Angers  and 
Chartres ;  there  were  loud  murmurs  of  disaffection 
from  the  national  party,  reproaching  him  for  his 
weakness  and  inefficiency  as  sovereign  of  the  realm. 
Karl  became  convinced  that  the  revolution  which  he 
thought  extinguished,  was  in  fact  only  dormant ; 
and,  believing  that  a  permanent  reconciliation  with 
his  opponents  was  impossible ;  that  the  result  of  his 
contest  with  the  Normans  was  doubtful ;  and  that 
his  defeat,  by  giving  strength  to  the  enemies  of  the 
German  line,  would  lead  to  his  dethronement ;  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  Danish  chieftain  and  his 
army,  strangers  to  the  national  interests  of  France 
and  the  German  influence  of  the  Emperor,  might  aid 
him  powerfully  to  suppress  the  malcontents,  and 
relieve  him  from  all  dependence  on  his  imperial 
patron  and  protector.  He  therefore  sent  an  embassy 
to  Hrolf,  proposing  to  recognise  him  as  Duke  of  one 
or  more  provinces  :  and,  that  their  mutual  political 
interests  might  be  closely  imited,  he  proposed  to 
give  him  his  daughter  in  marriage,  on  condition  of 
his  becoming  a  Christian.  Hrolf  acceded  to  the 
proposals  —  demanding  the  possession  of  those  shores 
which  he  and  his  ancestors  had  so  often  desolated, 
and  with  theni  the  surrender  of  the  Duchy  of  Brit- 
tany. After  a  long  discussion,  these  were  finally 
yielded.  Duke  Rod-bert,  brother  of  Eudes,  stood 
god-father  for  Hrolf  and  bestowed   his  own  name 


132  THE    FRANK    MONAUCHy. 

upon  him.  He  then  esjooiised  the  Princess  Ghiselle  : 
and  all  that  part  of  Neustria,  which  extends  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Somme  to  the  gates  of  St.  Malo, 
received  the  title  of  the  Duchy  of  Normandy.  Thence- 
forward this  duchy  formed  a  separate  dominion 
under  the  crown,  and  Brittany,  being  subordinate  to 
it,  was  reduced  to  the  rank  of  arriere-fief. 

This  treaty,  which  afterward  became  the  source 
of  so  many  wars,  was  signed  at  St.  Clair-sur-Epte ; 
where,  also,  Hrolf  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
Karl.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  this  half- 
savage  vassal  was  persuaded  to  submit  to  the  cere- 
mony usual  on  such  occasions.  He  for  a  long  time 
refused  to  place  his  hands  between  those  of  the 
King;  however,  he  finally  consented;  but  when  he 
was  required  to  bend  his  knee  to  his  sovereign  and 
to  kiss  his  foot,  the  fierce  Dane,  unused  to  acknow- 
ledge any  authority  but  that  of  his  idols,  and  any 
power  but  that  of  his  sword,  swore  he  would  bow 
himself  to  no  mortal  man,  having  already  humbled 
himself  quite  enough  in  doing  reverence  to  the  new 
God  that  he  had  adopted.  As  this  part  of  the  cere- 
mony was  considei'ed  essential  to  its  validity,  Hrolf 
at  length  compromised  the  matter  by  commanding 
one  of  his  officers  to  perform  the  requisite  kneeling 
and  kissing  in  his  stead.  The  substitute  was  accepted 
from  necessity ;  but  he  appeared  to  have  as  little 
"devotion  to  the  deed"  as  his  master;  and,  either 
through  awkwardness  or  insolence,  he   seized   the 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  133 

foot  of  the  King  so  rudely,  and  raised  it  so  high,  that 
his  majesty  tumbled  backward  on  the  floor.* 

Hrolf  thus  became  Duke  of  Normandy  and  Brit- 
tany under  the  name  of  Rod-bert.  The  twenty 
years  that  elapsed  between  his  conversion  and  his 
death  were  employed  by  him  in  rebuilding  cities, 
repairing  monasteries,  cultivating  the  land  and 
abolishing  theft.  As  one  expedient  for  accomplish- 
ing the  last  of  these  objects,  he  hung  bracelets  of 
gold  upon  the  trees  that  grew  along  the  high-way  and 
prohibited  the  people  from  touching  them  :  and  it  is 
asserted  that  some  of  these  remained  for  three  years 
undisturbed.  Long  after  his  death,  his  name,  alone, 
had  power  to  protect  the  oppressed.  Hence,  the 
Norman  custom  of  vociferating  haro  in  times  of  dis- 
tress—  the  term  being  a  compound  of  "  Ah,  Hrolf!" 
used  by  those  who,  during  the  Duke's  life,  called  on 
him  for  assistance. 

Thus  was  founded  the  celebrated  colony  of  the 
Normans ;  whose  race,  united  with  that  of  the 
Franks,  gave  Kings  to  England  and  Sicily. 

While  the  preceding  events  were  taking  place  at 
St.  Clair-sur-Epte,  Count  Rod-bert  quitted  the  con- 
ference, and,  counting  on  the  discontent  occasioned 
by  the  treaty  just  signed  by  the  King,  he  assembled 
the  lords  of  the  national  party  and  presented  himself 
for  election.     Rod-bert,  as  we  before  remarked,  was 


*  Chronicles  of  Duchesne. 
12 


134  THE   FRANK.    MONARCHY. 

a  brother  of  Eudes,  and  a  descendant  from  Rod-bert 
the  Strong,  and  of  course  his  elevation  would  tend  to 
separate  France  from  German  influence.  He  was 
elected  in  due  form  and  was  crowned  King  at 
Rheims  in  921,  where  he  received  the  oath  of  fidelity 
from  a  large  number  of  jjrelates  and  lords. 

Karl  assembled  an  army  to  suppress  this  formi- 
dable insurrection  and  was  joined  by  William,  Count 
of  Auvergne,  and  Raymond,  Count  of  Toulouse. 
They  advanced  upon  Soissons  where  the  national 
army  awaited  them.  Rod-bert  was  in  the  midst  of  his 
troops  armed  cap-a-pie  :  that  is,  with  a  coat  of  mail, 
a  helmet  and  a  lance.  This  weapon,  little  known 
under  the  first  race,  was  now  generally  used  by 
warriors.  That  he  might  be  more  readily  recognised 
by  his  soldiers,  Rod-bert  drew  his  beard,  which  was 
long  and  white,  through  his  visor;  but  the  device  led 
to  his  death,  for  it  rendered  him  a  mark  to  his 
enemies,  and  he  fell  on  the  field  struck,  as  some 
affirm  by  the  sabre  of  the  Count  Ful-bert,  and, 
according  to  others,  by  the  King's  lance.  The  bat- 
tle, however,  was  not  terminated  by  his  death ;  for 
his  son  Hugues,  afterward  surnamed  the  Great, 
{Hugh  the  Great)  took  command  of  the  troops,  and, 
exciting  them  to  revenge  his  father's  death,  charged 
desperately  upon  the  royal  army  and  defeated  it. 

Karl  took  refuge  with  his  kinsman,  Here-bert  of 
Vermandois,  who  promised  him  an  asylum,  but 
detained  him  as  a  prisoner.     The  nobles  offered  to 


THE    PRANK    MONARCHY.  135 

Hugues  the  crown  they  had  given  to  his  father;  but 
he  declined  it  and  solicited  their  sufl'rage  in  favor  of 
his  half-brother,  Raoul,  Duke  of  Burgundy,  w^hom 
they  accepted — indifferent  as  to  the  man,  provided 
he  were  not  of  Cierman  origin.  Raoul  was  therefore 
elected  King  of  France  in  the  year  of  grace,  924. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  southern  provinces,  not 
having  been  consulted  as  to  this  election,  protested 
against  it.*  A  series  of  domestic  and  foreign  wars 
succeeded.  Some,  against  the  Normans,  who  upheld 
the  rights  of  Karl,  half-brother  of  their  Count;  others, 
against  William,  Duke  of  Aquitania,  who  urged  his 
claim  to  the  crown  as  a  descendant  of  the  Kings  of 
the  first  race  :  others,  again,  against  the  Hungarians, 
who  devastated  Champagne ;  and,  lastly,  those 
against  Heie-bert  of  Vermandois,  who  claimed  the 
county  of  Laon  in  recompense  for  his  treason. 

The  result  of  these  various  wars  was  that  the  Nor- 
mans were  repulsed ;  the  Duke  of  Aquitania  was 
subdued;  the  Hungarians  were  dispersed;  and  the 
county  of  Laon  was  ceded  to  Here-bert.  Mean- 
while, Karl-le-Simple  died  in  prison  in  929. 

In  936,  the  death  of  Raoul  caused  an  interregnum 


*  The  will  of  Alfred,  Duke  of  Aquitania,  commences  thus  : 
"  Rege  terreno  deficiente,  Christo  regnante."  We  explained 
why  the  house  of  Aquitania  did  not  rally  around  the  national 
party,  when  we  said  that  its  chiefs  were  descended  from  the 
Merovingian  race. 


136  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

of  five  months,  during  which  time  Hugues  ruled  the 
kingdom.  But  the  Frank  dynasty  was  not  yet 
extinct :  for  Lud-wig,  a  son  of  Karl-le-Simple,  yet 
survived  in  England  and  the  Carolingian  party  pro- 
posed him  for  election.  At  the  same  time  Athelstane, 
King  of  England,  sent  ambassadors  to  Wil-helm,* 
son  of  Rod-bert  and  Duke  of  Normandy,  soliciting 
his  influence  to  sustain  the  claims  of  young  Lud-wig.t 
The  national  party,  either  from  disgust  or  timidity, 
proposed  no  rival  candidate  ;  and  as  Hugues  had  no 
desire  for  the  throne,  but  was  foremost  to  declare 
himself  in  favor  of  the  Carolingian  heir,  Lud-wig 
was  recalled  to  France  and  consecrated  and  crowned 
at  Laon  in  presence  of  nearly  all  the  nobles  of  the 
realm  and  more  than  twenty  prelates.| 

This  occurred  in  936,  and  the  new  King  was  called 
Lud-wig-d'Outi'e-mer — Louis  the  Transviarine,  or, 
Louis  the  Stranger. 

One  of  Lud-wig's  first  acts  was  opposed  to 
the  national  interest,  end,  of  course,  impolitic. 
Finding  himself  surrounded  by  nobles  with  whose 


*  Willingly  protecting. 

+  Misit  rex  Anglorum  Alstanus  ad  Guillelmum,  principem 
Normannorum,  legates  cum  muneribus,  ut  Ludovicum,  cum 
concilio  procerum  Francorum  patris,  in  regnum  revocaret. — 
Script,  rer.  Jr. 

t  He  was  thence  conducted  to  Laon,  consecrated  with  the 
royal  benediction,  and  crowned  by  the  loi'd  archbishop,  Artaud. 
— Chronicles  of  Frodoard. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  137 

opinions  he  could  not  sympathize,  and  jealous  lest 
they  should  eventually  deal  with  him  as  they  had 
done  with  Kai"l-le-Simple,  he  formed  an  alliance 
with  Otho,  King  of  Germany ;  very  naturally  seek- 
ing protection  from  his  own  kindred.*  The  lords 
highly  disapproved  of  this  proceeding,  as  it  served  to 
replace  France  under  Teutonic  tutelage.  Loud 
murmurings  broke  forth  around  the  throne,  and 
Hugues  withdrew  his  countenance  from  the  mis- 
guided King,  detaching,  at  the  same  time,  from  the 
Carolingian  party  Here-bert  of  Vermandois,  Wil- 
helm  of  Normandy  and  Gilbert  of  Lorraine.  The 
mal-contents  of  the  whole  kingdom  joined  them 
and  a  considerable  force  was  at  once  organized 
against  Lud-wig. 

The  King  prepared  boldly  for  the  contest,  though 
he  was  able  to  bring  into  the  field  but  about  half  the 
number  of  troops  that  his  enemies  had  mustered ;  but 
this  disadvantage  was  neutralized  by  the  energetic 
action  of  the  King's  prelates;  who,  accusing  Wil-helm 
of  having  burned  some  villages  in  Flanders,  and  Here- 
bert  of  retaining  in  his  possession  some  property  be- 
longing to  the  abbey  of  St.  Remy-de-Rheims, — 
promptly  excommunicated  them  both.  The  two 
Dukes  were  palsied  in  their  efforts  by  the  thunders 
of  the  Church ;  and  Hugues,  fearful  lest,  at  the 
moment,  they  should   abandon  the   enterprise,  pro- 


*  AuGusTiN  Thierry. 
13* 


138  THE    FRANK    MONAECHIT. 

posed  a  truce  for  a  few  months  ;  which  was  acceded 
to  by  Lud-wig  on  receiving  hostages.* 

An  event  now  occurred  that  disunited  the  interests 
of  Lud-wig  and  Otho,  and  gave  rise  to  a  contest 
between  them. 

The  inhabitants  of  Lorraine  revolted  against  the 
King  of  Germany;  and,  declaring  themselves  in- 
dependent, elected  Lud-wig-d'Outre-mer  for  their 
sovereign.  Lud-wig  accepted  the  appointment  and 
repaired  to  Lorraine,  while  England  appeared  with 
a  fleet  on  the  coast  of  Flanders,  to  recognise  and 
support  the  title  of  her  adopted  son.t 

But  no  sooner  had  Lud-wig  departed  from  Lor- 
raine, on  his  return  to  France,  than  Otho  entered  the 
revolting  province  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  pillaged 
and  burned  several  towns,  and  re-established  his  own 
authority  over  it. 

Meanwhile  Hugues,  Here-bert  and  Wil-helm 
besieged  Rheiras.  The  city  was  defended  by  the 
prelate  Artaud,  who  was  Carolingian,  but  a  part  of 
his  troops  declared  for  the  national  cause,  and  on 
the  sixth  day  Artaud  was  forced  to  surrender.  The 
deacon  Hugues  —  son  of  Here-bert  —  was  entrusted 
with  the  government  of  the  city,  and  the  three  vic- 
torious Dukes  marched  on  to  the  town  of  Laon. 


*  Frodoard. 

+  The  troops  sent  from  England  by  Athelstane  to  sustain 
Lud-wig,  crossed  the  sea  and  devastated  the  country  of  the 
Morins. —  Chronique  de  Frodoard, 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  139 

They  were  vigorously  pressing  the  siege  of  this 
place,  when  Lud-wig  approached  them  from  Bur- 
gundy, at  the  head  of  his  troops.  The  Dukes,  dis- 
liking to  be  placed  between  the  garrison  of  Laon 
and  the  army  of  the  King,  raised  the  siege  and 
retired  to  AUigni  where  they  found  Otho,  to  whom 
they  offered  their  services  and  the  crown  of  France.* 

Lud-wig  pursued  the  retreating  insurgents  with 
all  the  troops  he  could  collect;  but  Hugues  surprised 
his  array  by  an  adroit  manoeuvre,  and  put  them  to 
flight.  Lud-wig  made  his  escape,  with  great  diffi- 
culty, into  Aquitania. 

A  legate  of  Pope  Stephen,  named  Damasus,  or- 
dained Bishop  at  Rome  for  this  very  mission,  arri- 
ved now  in  France  bearing  letters  from  the  apostolic 
See  requiring  the  French  lords,  under  the  penalty  of 
excommunication,  to  recognise  Lud-wig  as  their 
King  and  put  an  end  to  the  war,  Wil-helm  yielded 
to  the  injunctions  of  the  holy  father  at  once  ;  but 
Hugues  and  Here-bert  continued  the  campaign. 
After  a  time,  however,  they  concluded  a  truce  that 
lasted  from  September  till  October.  During  the 
truce,  Otho  interposed  between  the  King  and  the 
belligerent  Dukes,   and   prevailed  on   the  latter  to 


*  They  probably  thought,  that  after  availing  themselves  of 
the  services  c  f  Otho  to  overthrow  Lud-wig,  they  could  easily 
expel  this  foreign  King  who,  unlike  the  Carolingians,  had  no 
party  in  France. 


140  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

become  subject  to  Lud-wig.  Tranquillity  was  thus, 
for  a  short  time,  restored. 

The  Duke  of  Normandy  did  not  long  survive  the 
pacification.  He  v\^as  assassinated  on  the  Somme, 
during  a  conference  with  Eren-hulf,  Count  of  Flan- 
ders ;  he  left  a  son  six  years  old,  named  Rik-hai'd.* 
Lud-wig  took  the  orphan  under  his  protection, 
declared  himself  his  guardian,  and  conducted  him  to 
Laon.  Once  within  this  town,  he  no  longer  dissimu- 
lated his  ulterior  intention  of  uniting  the  duchy  of 
Normandy  to  the  crown. 

To  remove  any  obstacle  to  this  project  which 
might  exist  in  the  person  of  Rik-hard,  he  deter- 
mined to  disqualify  him  for  the  duties  of  a  king  by 
burning  the  sinews  of  his  legs — thus  rendering 
him  a  cripple,  and  of  coui'se  unfit  to  command  an 
army  ;  which  at  this  period  was  the  first  requisite 
for  a  King :  but  the  young  Duke's  governor  found 
means  to  remove  him  secretly  from  the  city,  by  con- 
cealing him  in  a  bundle  of  hay ;  he  thence  conveyed 
him  to  Senlis  and  placed  him  with  his  maternal 
uncle.  Count  Bernhard.  Lud-wig  assembled  his 
army  to  pursue  the  young  Duke,  determining,  also, 
to  subdue  Normandy  and  annex  it  to  his  crown  while 
it  had  no  efficient  sovereign  to  defend  it. 

At  this  juncture,  many  of  the  Norman  nobles,  aware 
of  the  great  talents  of  Hugues,  and  knowing  that 

♦  Strong  and  brave. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  141 

his  reconciliation  with  Lud-wig  was  a  matter  of 
necessity  and  not  of  choice,  sent  an  ambassador  to  him 
with  offers  of  their  faith  and  homage,  and  promising 
to  deUver  to  hira  the  town  of  Evreux.  Hugues 
accepted  the  proposals  ;  and  once  more  the  national 
opposition  and  the  Frank  royalty  were  set  against 
each  other  in  battle  array. 

Lud-wig  marched  upon  Rouen,  which  opened 
her  gates  to  him.  But,  subsequently,  being  drawn 
into  an  ambuscade,  under  the  pretext  of  an  inter- 
view with  a  Norman  chief,  named  Haigrold,  he  and 
his  few  followers  were  suddenly  surrounded  by  a 
superior  force.  His  attendants  were  all  slain,  and 
he  for  the  moment  escaped ;  but  he  was  pursued  by 
a  Norman*  whom  he  supposed  to  be  friendly  to  him, 
taken  prisoner,  and  delivered  up  to  Hugues.  He 
was  then  conveyed  to  a  fortress  in  the  city  of  Laon 
Avhich  as  recently  as  1818,  bore  the  name  of  the 
Tower  of  Louis  d'Outre-mer.f 

The  queen  of  France,  who  was  Otho's  sister,  now 
appealed  to  that  monarch  for  aid,  She  promised,  in 
the  name  and  by  the  authority  of  Lud-wig,  to  cede  to 
Otho  several  French  provinces,  and  among  others 
Lorraine,  provided  he  would  deliver  the  kingdom 


*  Chronique  de  Frodoard. 

t  This  tower  has,  we  believe,  been  since  pulled  down. 


142  THE    FRANK     MONARCHY. 

from  the  hands,  of  the  national  party  *  Eren-hulf, 
Count  of  Flanders,  was  charged  with  this  mission. 

Otho  assented  to  the  proposal ;  and  having  united 
to  his  standard  Conrad,  King  of  Cisalpine-Gaul,  he 
assembled  an  army  consisting  of  thirty-two  legions, 
and  marched  to  Rheims.t  The  national  party, 
overav^ed  by  this  display  of  strength,  and  unable  to 
rely  on  the  country  which  was  divided  by  conflicting 
interests,  dared  not  risk  a  battle.  Hugues  and  his 
followers  therefore  abandoned  the  city  of  Laon,  left 
the  captive  King  behind  them,  and  retreated  into 
Normandy.  The  combined  forces  under  Otho  and 
Conrad,  now  invaded  that  duchy,  where,  by  his  con- 
cessions, Karl-le-Simple  had  formerly  hoped  to 
create  for  himself  and  his  posterity,  devoted  and  per- 
petual allies. 

Lud-wig  was,  indeed,  re-established  on  his  throne 
by  the  intervention  of  Otho.  But  no  sooner  had  that 
monarch  and  his  colleague  withdrawn  their  troops 
and  returned  home,  than  Hugues  issued  from  Nor- 
mandy with  a  stronger  force  than  he  had  ever  before 


*  Timens  (Ludovicus)  ne  eorum  conatu  deponeretur  a  cul- 
mine  regni,  misit  Arnulphum  Flandrensem,  ad  Othonem,  trans- 
rhenanum  regem,  mandans  quoniam,  si  Hugonem  magnum 
omnino  contereret,  ct  normannicam  terrain  suo  domino  subjice- 
ret  procul  dubio  Lothariense  regnum  ei  contraderet. —  Scrip, 
rer.  franc. 

t  AuGusTiN  Thierry. 


THE    PRANK    MONARCHY.  143 

commanded  :  for  the  Norman  lords,  indignant  at  the 
German  invasion  of  their  territory,  and  having  suf- 
fered much  from  it,  joined  at  once  the  national 
standard,  for  the  purpose  of  retaliating  on  Lud-wig 
the  evils  they  had  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  friends 
and  in  his  behalf  Lud-wig,  dismayed  at  these  formi- 
dable demonstrations,  fled  across  the  Rhine,  and  a 
second  time  sought  aid  from  Otho.* 

Otho  convened  a  council  at  Treves,  and  ordered 
Hugues  to  be  excommunicated  ;  a  mode  of  attack 
which  he  now  found  to  be  much  more  convenient 
and  less  perilous  than  a  resort  to  arms.t  As  this 
was  the  only  assistance  that  Lud-wig  received  from 
the  German  King  upon  this  occasion,  he  found  himself 
obliged  to  return  to  Laon,  the  only  strong-hold  in  the 
kingdom  that  remained  faithful  to  him.  He  was 
killed  shortly  afterward,  in  a  manner  equally  odd 
and  unexpected. 

He  had  taken  a  disgust  at  Laon,  as  a  residence, 
from  one  of  his  sons'  having  died  there;  and  he  quit- 


*  Rex  Ludovicus  deprecatur  regem  Othonem,  ut  subsidium 
sibi  ferat  contra  Hugonem  et  cseteros  inimicos  suos. —  Scrip, 
rer.  franc. 

■f  Finally,  the  third  day,  and  after  the  earnest  demand  of  Luid- 
hulf,  envoy  and  chaplain  of  King  Otho,  —  for  such  was  his  mas- 
ter's pleasure — Count  Hugues  was,  for  all  the  crimes  that  he 
had  committed,  excommunicated  until  he  should  come  to  repent- 
ance. —  Chronique  de  Frodoard. 


144  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

ted  it  for  Rheims,  which  was  under  the  government  of 
the  prelate  Artaud,  one  of  the  warmest  partizans  of 
the  Frank  dynasty.  As  he  approached  the  city,  a 
wolf  suddenly  crossed  the  road  and  the  King  started 
in  pursuit  of  it.  He  essayed  to  leap  a  ditch,  but  his 
horse  stumbled  and  he  was  thrown  forward  violently 
to  the  ground.  His  attendants  conveyed  him  to  the 
bishop's  castle,  where  he  expired  in  the  thirty-third 
year  of  his  age,  A.  D.  954,  leaving  two  sons,  Lot-her, 
thirteen  years  old,  and  Karl,  still  in  the  cradle. 

Gerberge,  widow  of  the  deceased  King,  well 
knew  that  she  was  now  in  the  power  of  Hugues ; 
but,  determining  to  anticipate  any  hostile  movement 
on  his  part,  she  despatched  ambassadors  to  declare 
to  him  that  to  his  loyalty  she  confided  her  own  inte- 
rests,and  those  of  her  two  sons.*  Hugues  was  thus 
incited  to  generosity,  and  caused  Lot-her  to  be 
crowned  at  St.  Remy. 

Unquestionably,  Hugues — before  sacrificing  the 
interests  of  the  paity  whose  representative  he  was, 
to  one  of  those  sentiments  of  the  heart  to  which  no 
political  leader  has  a  right  to  yield — persuaded 
himself  that  Lot-her,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  could  be 


*  The  queen  Gerberge  sent  ambassadors  to  Hugues,  implo- 
ring counsel  and  assistance ;  he  invited  her  to  come  to  him, 
comforted  her,  and  promised  that  her  son  should  enter  into  pos- 
session of  the  kingdom.  —  Chronique  de  Fkodoard, 


THE    PRANK    MONARCHY.  145 

King  only  in  name.     And,  in  fact,  all  the  affairs  of 
the  government  were  soon  under  iiis  own  control. 

Having  now  attained,  the  summit  of  power,  pos- 
sessed the  highest  dignities,  and.  acquired  the  titles  of 
Duke  of  France,  of  Burgundy,  and  of  Aquitania,* 
Hugues  expired  at  Dourdan,  A.  D.  956.  For  twenty 
years  he  had  almost  shared  the  x-oyal  authority  with 
Lud-wig.  He  was  surnamed  the  great,  on  account  of 
his  height ;  the  white,  for  his  complexion  ;  the  j^'fince, 
for  his  power ;  and  the  abbe,  because  St.  Germain- 
des-Pres  and  St.  Martin-de-Tours  belonged  to  him. 
He  left  three  sons,  of  whom  the  eldest  inherited  the 
title  of  Duke  of  France  and  the  guardianship  of  the 
young  King. 

This  son  was  Hugues  Capet  —  or  Chapet,\  as  it  is 
written  in  the  Romance  language  —  (Hugh  Capet). 
Hugues,  in  whom  all  the  hopes  of  the  national  party 
were  concentrated,  desired  to  perfect  a  lasting  alli- 
ance between  himself  and  Rik-hard,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy. He  therefore  offered  to  the  Duke  the  hand 
of  his  sister  in  marriage,  which  was  accepted  —  a 
judicious  and  timely  precaution,  tending  to  strength-, 
en  his  authority ;  for  Otho  II.,  having  some  time 
after  succeeded  his  father,  was  proclaimed  Emperor 
of  Germany  ;  and  he,  being  the  heieditary  foe  of  the 


*  These  last  two  provinces  were  ceded  to  liim  by  the  youn^ 
prince. 

t  AUGOSTIN  ThII.RRY. 

13 


146  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY, 

French  national  party,  now  became  an  object  of 
great  concern  to  that  party,  by  reason  of  such  an 
accession  of  influence  and  power. 

Hugues,  after  much  argument,  convinced  the  King 
that  the  true  source  of  his  strength  lay  in  the  nation, 
and  not  in  foreign  influence.  He  also  repeatedly 
demonstrated  to  him  the  fact  that  Lorraine  ought 
never  to  be  an  independent  kingdom,  but  only  a  pro- 
vince of  France,  Moved  by  his  suggestions  on  this 
latter  subject,  Lot-her  determined  to  wrest  that  ter- 
ritory from  the  Emperor.  He  assembled  his  army 
and  entered  Lorraine  with  so  much  impetuosity  that 
the  Emperor  was  nearly  surprised  by  him  in  his 
palace  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.*  Otho  made  good  his 
escape,  however,  and  fled  to  Germany ;  where,  col- 
lecting an  army  of  sixty  thousand  men,  he  marched 
to  repel  the  invaders.  Lot-her,  in  turn,  unable  to 
resist  this  force,  retreated  ;  and,  being  closely  pur- 
sued by  Otho,  was  compelled  to  maintain  a  continu- 
ous battle  during  the  whole  of  his  backward  march 
to  Paris.  Otho  now  established  his  camp  at  Mont- 
martre,!  where,  perceiving  his  inability  to  take  the 
city,  he  nevertheless  caused  the  Te  Deuvi  to  be 
chaunted  in  honor  of  his  victory  :  and  the  sound  of  this 
chaunt,  notwithstanding  the  distance,   was  distinctly 


♦  Chronicles  of  Raoul  Glaber. 

t  Called  Muns  Marlis  by  Pagan,  and  Ilio?is  Marlyrum  by 
Christian,  writers. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  147 

heard  by  the  inhabitants.  He  also  made  his  entire 
army,  with  one  voice  and  in  chorus,  repeat  the  line 
Alleluia  te martyrum*  After  this,  he  took  up  his  line 
of  march  for  his  own  countiy. 

But  he  was  destined  to  undergo  the  same  trials  as 
the  retreating  army  of  Lot-her,  with  tlie  superadded 
disadvantage  of  being  pursued  in  an  enemy's  coun- 
try. Hugues  and  Lot-her  issued  forth  from  Paris  as 
he  retired  from  Montmartre  ;  and,  hanging  upon  his 
rear,  they  harassed  him  with  incessant  attacks  in 
the  open  coantry,  at  the  fords  of  the  rivers,  at  the 
gorges  of  the  defiles ;  and  when  he  at  length 
atrived  at  the  frontiers,  himself  and  his  troops  broken 
and  dispirited,  he  was  apparently  on  the  eve  of  being 
annihilated  in  a  pitched  battle  —  but  here,  to  the 
great  discomfiture  of  Hugues,  and  the  astonishment 
of  the  whole  French  army,  Otho  obtained  a  truce 
from  Lot-her.t  This  truce  was  foUovved  by  a  treaty 
still  more  surprising ;  for  it  yielded  Lorraine  to  the 
imperial  court  on  the  simple  condition  that  it  should 
bear  the  title  of  fief,  and  be  held  from  the  crown  of 


*  Accitis  quam  pluribus  cXencis,  alleluia  lemarlyruni,  in  loco 
qui  dicitur  Mons  Martyrum,  in  tantum  elatis  vocibus  decan- 
tari  prrecepit,  ui  attonitis  auribus  Hugo  et  omnis  Parisiorum 
plebs  miraretur.  —  Script,  rer.  franc. 

t  Pacificatus  est  Lotharius  rex  cum  Ottone  rege,  Remis 
civitate  contra  voluntatem  Hugonis  et  Halnrici,  fratris  sui,  et 
contra  voluntatem  exercitussui. —  Ibid. 


148  THE    FRANK     MONARCHY. 

France,*  This  treaty  seems  incomprehensible  to 
many  of  our  historians  who  have  taken  a  view  dif- 
ferent from  ours  of  the  decline  of  the  Carolingian 
race ;  and  who,  therefore,  do  not  understand  this 
strange  compact  that  gave  all  to  the  vanquished  and 
nothing  to  the  victors.\ 

We  shall  offer  a  clear  and  easy  explanatio"h. 
Lot-her  had  discovered  that  his  real  and  mortal  ene- 
mies were  the  national  foes  of  the  Carolingian 
family,  and  not  the  men  beyond  the  Rhine  ;  whom, 
on  the  contrary,  a  common  origin  and  an  identity  of 
interests  made  his  natural  allies.  As  he  saw,  day 
by  day,  the  ranks  of  the  national  party  filling  up  and 
their  hatred  to  the  Frank  dynasty  constantly  increas- 
ing, he  regretted  having  yielded  to  the  persuasions 
of  Hugues  Capet  in  declaring  war  against  the  only 
man  whose  exterior  power  could,  by  its  protection, 
counterbalance  the  continually  growing  interior 
power  against  which  he  felt  it  necessary  to  combat. 
He  remembered  that  his  father,  twice  dethroned, 
had  twice   received  succor  and  protection  from  the 


*  Dedit  Lotharius  rex  Ottoni  regi  in  beneficio  Lothariense 
regnum ;  quae  causa  niagis  contristavit  corda  principum 
Francorum. —  Script,  rer.  franc. 

t  Lothaire  ceded  to  him  Lorraine  on  condition  that  he  would 
hold  it  in  fief  of  the  crown  of  France,  Historians  uniformly 
denounce  this  treaty  which  gave  all  to  the  vanquished,  and 
nothing  to  the  victors  but  the  empty  name  of  sovereign,— 
Vely. 


THE    FRANK    MONAUCIIV.  149 

father  of  him  whom  he  had  just  fought  with  and 
conquered.  Besides,  the  popularity  of  Hugues 
Capet  had  now  reached  that  point  of  sympathy  with 
the  nation,  that  he  might  with  impunity  attempt  a 
revolt  similar  to  that  of  Hugues  the  Great,  against 
which  the  King  would  find  no  support  from  his 
nobles,  and  which  the  Emperor  Otho  would  be  very 
careful  not  to  suppress,  since  Lot-her  had  made  so 
disastrous  a  war  upon  him  on  such  slight  induce- 
ments. 

In  view  of  all  this,  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 
The  influence  of  Hugues  was  doubled  by  his  valiant 
defence  of  Paris  and  his  triumph  over  the  retreating 
Grermans.  Upon  his  return  to  Laon  with  an  army  . 
who  scarcely  knew  the  King,  but  who  had  learned 
to  appreciate  Hugues,  the  royalty  of  Lot-her  would 
be  nothing  more  than  a  problem,  which  the  Duke  of 
France  might,  at  his. pleasure,  require  his  sovereign 
to  solve  in  a  cloister.  Of  whom,  then,  could  Lot-her 
so  naturally  ask  aid  as  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
whose  family  had  so  frequently  proved  to  the  Kings 
of  France  that  they  possessed  both  the  will  and  the 
ability  to  protect  them  1  He  therefore  seized  this 
opportunity  to  conclude  a  peace  with  Otho  that 
should  be  as  advantageous  as  a  victory  and  cause  him 
to  forget  his  defeat :  a  peace  which  should  give  him 
more  than  the  war  had  taken  from  him, —  a  province, 
in  lieu  of  an  army.  And  what  province  could  so  well 
pi'omote  the  double  political  purpose  of  the  King  as 
13* 


150  THE    FRANK    MONARCHYi 

the  little  kingdom  of  Lorraine, — from  the  frontiers 
of  which  the  German  army  could  in  three  days  pene- 
trate to  the  centre  of  France  1 

Henceforward,  the  national  party  abandoned  all 
expectation  of  eradicating  by  violence  this  tenacious 
dynasty  which  foreign  arms  had  twice  reinstated  on 
the  thi'one  of  France.  Hugues  continued,  however, 
to  withdraw  imperceptibly  all  authority  from  the 
crown  and  retain  it  in  his  own  hands  ;  and,  at  the 
time  of  the  King's  death,  he  had  concentrated  within 
himself  every  attribute  of  royalty  but  its  title.*  Lot- 
her  died  at  Rheims  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  age, 
and  the  thirty-second  of  his  reign;  after  having  asso- 
ciated his  son  Lud-wig  (Louis  V.)  with  him  on  the 
throne. 

Hugues  Capet  was  now  the  national  heir,  stand- 
ing patiently  by  the  bedside  of  expiring  royalty  till 
it  should  yield  up  its  latest  breath.  At  the  end  of 
fifteen  months,  this  desired  consummation  took  place; 
when  occurred  the  demise  of  Lud-wig — the  last 
abortion  of  that  mother  who  had  borne  Charle- 
magne. The  people,  now,  regardless  of  Charles, 
Duke  of  Lorraine,  uncle  to  the  deceased  King, 
who  laid  claim  to  the  crown,  by  universal  ac- 
clamation called  Hugues  Capet  to  the  throne. 
Not,    as    some   historians    affirm,  because   he    was 


*  Lotharius   rex  Francise  preelatus  et   solo  nomine,  Hugo 
vero,  non  nomine,  sed  actu  et  opere. -^  Giberti  Epistolje. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHV.  151 

related  to  the  Carolingian  branch  through  Hilde- 
brand,  brother  of  Karl-le-Martel;*  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, because  beyond  Rod-bert  the  Strong  his  line- 
age was  by  no  means  well  defined ;  and  the  new 
nation  required  for  their  governor  a  new  man. 
For,  as  we  have  said,  there  was  inveterate  hatred 
between  France  and  the  Carolingian  race ;  and  the 
election  of  Hugues  was  the  triumph  of  an  enterprise 
commenced  long  years  before  —  viz.,  eradicating 
from  the  kingdom  of  France  the  posterity  of  the 
Frank  Kings  .t 

Thus,  in  a  grave  contest  of  a  principle  against  a 
race,  though  the  strife  may  be  prolonged,  the  result 
is  never  doubtful :  it  is  the  wrestling  of  the  angel 
with  Jacob  :  it  may  continue  for  a  night  or  a  cen- 
tury ;  but,  in  the  event,  man  is  always  vanquished. 

We  have  expatiated  at  length  on  the  downfall  of 
this  monarchy.  We  have  entered  into  the  details  of 
its  decline.  We  have  essayed  to  declare  the  causes 
of  a  catastrophe,  of  which  other  historians  have  been 
content  to  record  only  the  results.^  And  we  believe 
that  we  have  faithfully  submitted  to  the  reader  the 


♦  The  Duke  d'Epernon. 

t  Hugo-Capet  more  patrum  suorum,  odio  motus  antique, 
genus  Caroli  cupiens  era^^ere  de  regno  Francorum.  —  Script, 
rer.  franc. 

X  M.  Augustin  Thierry  is  the  first,  we  think,  whose  rapid 
and  sure  glance  has  distinguished  anything  certain  in  the  chaos 
of  the  second  race. 


152  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

conflicting  interests  of  the  Frank  dynasty  and  the 
French  nation ;  and,  consequently,  that  we  have 
given,  as  far  as  is  possible  within  the  narrow  limits 
of  a  summary,  the  outline,  if  not  all  the  scenes,  of  the 
Carolingian  drama  which  closes  with  the  death  of 
Lud-wig  V. 

We  see,  then,  our  ancestors  submitting  to  the 
great  and  inevitable  law  of  progression  which,  in 
the  overthrow  of  the  Merovingian  Kings,  consum- 
mated a  first  revolution  —  a  substitution  of  the  power 
of  the  Austrasian  chieftainship  for  the  royal  Neus- 
trian  power :  a  revolution  among  the  victors  :  a 
family  revolution,  in  which  those  who  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  most  interested  —  the  conquered  people 
—  were  so  stupified  by  defeat  as  to  take  no  part  and 
give  utterance  to  no  opinion. 

Under  the  second  race,  we  see  a  second  revolu- 
tion ;  but,  this  time,  its  character  is  changed.  It  is 
a  revolution  of  the  conquered  people  against  their 
masters ;  a  struggle  of  the  national  party  with  the 
German  party ;  a  reaction  of  the  power  de  jure 
against  the  power  de  facto ;  a  plea,  supported  by 
arras,  in  which  the  nation  demands  not,  indeed,  to 
govern  herself,  but  to  be  governed  by  the  man  of 
her  own  choice. 

The  third  race,  in  its  tui'n,  was  destined  to 
develope  a  third  revolution.  A  revolution  of  the  po- 
pular power  against  the  national-monarchical  power. 
A  claim  of  universal  rights  against  the  privilege  of  the 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  153 

few  and  the  despotism  of  one.  A  contest  in  which 
royalty  was  to  combat,  man  to  man,  with  freedom  ; 
not  for  a  change  of  name,  or  a  substitution  of  place, 
but  for  life  itself:  a  mortal  struggle  without  pity, 
without  mercy ;  of  which  the  lists  were  to  be  the 
Place-de-la-Revolution,  and  the  judge,  the  director 
of  the  guillotine. 

The  Carolingian  race  ruled  for  two  hundred  and 
thirty -six  years :  during  whic^  time  it  separated 
itself  into  three  branches  and  occupied,  indepen- 
dently, the  three  great  thrones  that  Charlemagne  had 
united  under  one  empire  :  the  throne  of  Germany, 
the  throne  of  France,  and  the  throne  of  Italy — and, 
what  is  singular,  these  three  thrones  were  severally 
lost  under  the  reigns  of  three  Kings  named  Liid-wig. 
The  Frank  Kings  seveial  times  changed  their  places 
of  residence  ;  and,  according  to  their  inclinations,  or 
the  force  of  events,  removed  the  seat  of  government 
into  various  cities.  Peppin  chose  Paris ;  Charle- 
magne and  his  son,  Aix-la-Chapelle  and  Thionville ; 
Karl-le-Chauve,  Soissons  and  Compeigne  ;  Karl-le- 
Simple,  Rheims;  and,  finally,  Lud-wig-d'Outre-mer 
and  his  two  sons  —  the  Kings  of  the  civil  war  —  the 
almost  impregnable  city  of  Laon. 

Under  the  Frank  monarchy,  as  its  name  indicates, 
the  Roman  usages  gradually  disappeared  and  the 
kingdom  began  to  display  within  itself  its  national 
characteristics.  The  form  and  texture  of  habili- 
ments were  changed.     Charlemagne  disdained  the 


154  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

chlamyde  and  the  Roman  mantle  of  Hlodo-wig. 
"  He  wore,"  says  Eginbard,  "  the  dress  of  his 
fathers ;  next  to  his  skin,  a  shirt  and  breeches  of 
linen-cloth;  over  these,  a  doublet  fastened  .with  a 
silken  girdle,  and  stockings  ;  his  legs  were  encircled 
with  bands,  and  his  feet  shod  with  sandals.  In  win- 
ter, he  wore  a  coat  of  otter-skins  over  his  shoulders 
and  breast.  He  was  always  covered  with  the  Sagum 
of  the  Veneti,  and  the  hilt  and  belt  of  his  sword  were 
of  gold  and  silver ;  in  fact,  he  sometimes  wore  a 
second  sword  studded  with  precious  stones,  but  this 
was  only  on  days  of  festivity,  or  when  he  gave 
audience  to  foreign  ambassadors.  He  despised  the 
dress  of  all  other  nations  however  rich  it  might  be. 
Twice  only,  during  his  sojourn  at  Rome,  —  first  at 
the  entreaty  of  Pope  Adiian,  and  subsequently  at 
that  of  Pope  Leo  —  he  consented  to  be  arrayed  in 
the  long  tunic,  the  chlamyde  and  Roman  hose." 
Under  Charlemagne,  the  sword  was  greatly  increased 
in  length,  and  received  a  baptismal  name  :  his  own 
was  called  Joycuse,  because,  war  being  the  element 
of  this  still  primitive  people,  the  unsheathing  of  the 
sword  was  a  signal  for  rejoicing.  Soon  after,  the 
conquest  of  Italy  introduced  a  taste  for  robes  of  silk, 
ornamented  with  furs  brought  by  the  people  of  the 
Adriatic  from  the  East.  The  short  mantle  of  the 
Gauls  was  preferred  by  the  conquerors  to  the  consu- 
lar toga.     Toward  the  commencement  of  the  second 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  155 

race,  the  coat  of  mail,  covering  the  entire  body, 
superseded  the  antique  cuirass  which  protected  only 
the  breast ;  and,  finally,  the  vizor  was  attached  to  the 
helmet  to  protect  the  face  of  the  warrior. 

A  semblance  of  legislation  was  also  established. 
The  Capitularia  succeeded  to  the  Theodosian  Code. 
Sumptuary  laws  were  promulgated.  The  trials  by 
combat,  fire  and  the  Cross  were  instituted.  By  an 
ordinance  of  Charlemagne,  the  first  fairs,  those  of 
Landy,  were  introduced  into  France.  And  some 
statutes  appended  to  the  Capitularia  enable  us  to 
trace  the  first  levying  of  imposts  to  defray  the  royal 
expenses  by  deducting  for  the  sovereign's  use  one 
tenth  of  the  pi'ofits  that  the  Jews  might  gain  by  com- 
merce and  one  eleventh  of  the  profits  gained  in  the 
same  manner  by  the  Christians.  There  were  also 
established  the  duties  of  passage,  pontage,  imports 
and  exports,  and  officers  were  appointed  for  collect- 
ing these  customs. 

The  games,  also,  were  changed.  The  chase  super- 
seded the  combats  of  men  and  animals  in  the  circus. 
Then  came  the  dancers  upon  ropes,  the  jongleurs 
with  their  vielles  ;.  and,  after  them,  the  ?nimes  leading 
bears  and  monkeys  instructed  to  imitate  grotesquely 
the  ordinary  actions  of  human  beings. 

A  shadow  of  literature,  animated  by  the  founda- 
tion of  an  academy,  flitted  across  this  changing  scene. 
The  RomaTice  language,  a  mixed  dialect  composed  of 


156  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

the  Lalin,  Celtic,  and  Teutonic,  was  introduced* 
Arithmetic,  grammar,  and  church  music  ^yere  taught 
in  schools ;  and  Charlemagne  caused  the  popular 
songs  of  the  Franks  to  be  collected  together.  The 
Arabs  translated  the  woiks  of  Aristotle  and  Hippo- 
crates; and  the  nun  Rasco'itha  compiled  a  selection 
of  Latin  poetry. 

The  sciences  also  began  timidly  to  appear. 
Chemistry  was  cultivated  by  the  Arabs  in  the  South 
of  France ;  Lud-wig-le-Debonnaii'e  studied  astro- 
nomy; and  a  school  of  medicine,  founded  at  Salerno 
in  984,  sent  some  of  its  students  into  France. 

The  currency,  too,  underwent  a  change.  The 
coin  consisted  of  livres,  sous,  and  deniers,  bearing  on 
one  side  the  effigy  of  the  reigning  monarch  ;  and  on 
the  reverse,  a  double  or  simple  cross  between  an 
Alpha  and  Omega  —  emblems  of  Christ,  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  all  things.  The  inscription  was 
this  Latin  device,  adopted  by  Charlemagne  —  in 
which  is  embodied  a  political  revolution  ;  i.  e.  the 
abolition  of  the  right  of  election  and  the  recognition 
of  the  divine  right — Karolus  Magnus,  gratia  Dei 

REX. 

Under  Raoul,  the  manufacture  of  hemp-cloth  was 
begun ;  and,  after  this  first  step  of  national  industry. 


*  It  will  be  seen  that^  at  a  later  day,  Rabelais  introduced 
Greek  roots  into  the  lanffuage. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  157 

commerce  clung  to  the  soil  which   she  never  after- 
ward abandoned. 

The  political  aspect  of  the  realm  underwent  a  still 
more  important  modification,  A  great  social  reform 
was  effected  when  the  last  King  of  the  flowing  hair 
gave  place  to  the  first  Carolingian  monarch.  This 
was  a  transition  from  slavery  to  servitude.  It  was 
the  first  step  toward  Liberty  —  a  tottering  and  uncer- 
tain step  like  that  of  an  infant.  It  was  the  first  halt 
in  that  march  which  led  man  to  unknown  countries  — 
coimtries  far  beyond  the  horizon  at  first  embraced  by 
his  vision.  This  transformation  commenced  under 
the  first  race  with  the  relinquishing  of  grants  of 
property  in  fief  and  benefices :  a  proceeding  that 
introduced  the  feudal  system  which  established  itself 
under  the  second  race,  and  was  to  be  perfected  under 
the  third  with  the  title  of  the  Great  Vassalage. 
From  this  period  are  dated  not  only  the  powerful 
families  which  constituted  the  French  noblesse,  but 
the  aristocratic  names  that  designated  those  families. 
The  chiefs,  receiving  lands  from  the  King,  sought  to 
magnify  the  honor  implied  by  these  gifts  by  substi- 
tuting the  territorial  titles  of  the  newly  acquired  pro- 
perty for  their  Frank  names,  and  adding  to  these 
their  own  baptismal  names.  Thus,  at  the  outset, 
they  possessed,  under  the  title  of  chiefs,  the  land 
without  the  name ;  next,  under  the  title  of  grand 
vassals,  they  possessed  the  land  and  the  name ;  and, 
finally,  under  the  title  of  aristocrats,  they  dignified 
14 


158  THE    FRANK    MONAECHY. 

themselves  with  the  name  though  no  longer  possess- 
ing the  land. 

The  Church,  which  we  have  promised  to  follow  in 
her  representation  of  the  popular  interest,  reached, 
under  the  second  race,  her  highest  degree  of  power, 
and  forced  the  usurpation  to  pay  dearly  for  the  oil 
poured  on  its  head.  The  Popes  applied  to  temporal 
purposes  that  power  to  hind  and  loose  which  they 
had  received  for  spiritual  uses  only.  But  the  first 
encroachments  of  pontifical  supremacy  were  made 
in  a  republican  spirit:  for  when,  in  process  of  time, 
the  sons  of  those  who  had  granted  domains  to  com- 
munities —  which  communities,  be  it  remembered, 
were  the  people  —  occasionally  determined  to  take 
back  a  part  or  all  of  the  domains  so  granted  ;  a 
complaint  was  preferred  by  the  monk  to  the  abbe, 
by  the  abbe  to  the  bishop,  and  by  the  bishop  to  the 
Pope.  Whereupon,  His  Holiness  summoned  the 
King  or  the  usurping  chief  to  render  to  the  people 
the  things  that  were  the  people's  ;  in  imitation  of  our 
Saviour's  direction,  "  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things 
which  be  Caesar's."  If  the  spoiler  refused  obe- 
dience to  the  mandate,  excommunication,  with  its 
spiritual  terrors,  took  the  place  of  temporal  authority 
which,  at  this  period,  was  imperfectly  or  feebly 
vested  in  the  Holy  See.  The  following  formula  was 
adopted  on  these  occasions  : 

"  Concerning  the  usurpers  of  ecclesiastical  pro- 
perty —  whom  the  sacred  Canons,  inspired  by  the 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  159 

Holy  Ghost  and  consecrated  by  the  world's  venera- 
tion, as  also  the  decrees  of  the  Pontiff  of  the  Apostolic 
See,  declare  worthy  to  remain  under  anathema  until 
they  have  made  full  restitution ;  and  concerning  ex- 
tortioners who,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the 
Apostle,  speaking  in  Christ's  name,  shall  not  inherit 
the  kingdom  of  God  —  we  do  hereby  interdict  all 
true  Christians  from  eating  with  such  men  while 
they  persevere  in  their  crime.  And  we  decree,  by 
virtue  of  the  authority  of  Christ,  and  of  these 
presents  consecrated  by  such  authority,  that  if,  before 
the  approaching  convocation  of  November,  they  shall 
not  have  restored  to  the  Church  the  property 
belonging  to  it  and  by  them  unjustly  seized,  they  be 
then  separated  from  the  communion  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ,  and  continue  so  separated  and 
excluded  until  they  shall  make  full  restitution  of  such 
ecclesiastical  possessions  and  complete  reparation 
for  their  unlawful  trespass  upon  the  same.  And 
this,  and  all  this,  do  we  now  decree  and  publish,  to  the 
effect  that,  according  to  the  words  of  the  most  excel- 
lent preacher,  the  bodies  of  such  offenders  may  be 
delivered  unto  Satan  for  the  saving  of  their  spirits  in 
the  day  of  the  Loi'd  Jesus."* 

These  demonstrations  of  the  extent  of  the  Church's 
power  excited  the  Pope  to  tyranny  and  the  priest- 


*  The  conclusion  of  this  formula  is  the  same  as  was  employ- 
ed by  St.  Paul;  1.  Corinthians,  v.  5. 


160  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

hood  to  arrogance.  The  sovereign  pontiff  made  and 
unmade  Kings.  The  bishops  took  precedence  of 
the  nobles,  were  named  before  them  in  diplomas, 
and  affixed  their  signatures  next  to  that  of  the  King. 
They  had  droit  dc  justice  as  princes ;  they  coined 
money  as  sovereigns ;  levied  taxes  and  soldiers  as 
conquerors ;  and  joined  invaded  territory  to  terri- 
tories conceded,  and  conquests  to  benefices.  In 
fact  the  Rome  of  Stephen  III.  became  a  counterpart 
of  the  Rome  of  Augustus  ;  and  the  city  on  seven 
hills  still  vindicated  its  claim  to  the  proud  title  of  the 
Eternal  City.  We  shall  see  that  it  declined  under 
the  third  race  :  beginning  to  lose  influence  as  it  gra- 
dually changed  its  democratic  to  an  ai'istocratic 
policy  and  espoused  the  cause  of  royalty  against  the 
cause  of  the  people. 

The  nobles,  on  their  part,  took  advantage  of 
the  troubles  that  distracted  the  heirs  of  Charle- 
magne to  withdraw  from  the  royal  influence  :  they 
availed  themselves  of  the  weakness  of  Lud-wig-le- 
Debonnaire,  the  imbecility  of  Karl-le-Simple  and 
the  captivity  of  Lud-wig-d'Outre-mer,  to  escape  the 
bonds  of  their  feudal  allegiance.  The  sons  of  those 
who  had  received  domains  from  royal  munificence 
regarded  the  grants  as  made  from  interested  motives 
and  not  from  a  principle  of  generosity.  They  aver- 
red that  if  their  fathers  had  chosen  to  take  unautho- 
rized possession  of  the  property,  the  sovereign, 
occupied  by  civil  and  foreign  wars,  would  have  been 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  161 

unable  to  avenge  himself  for  the  spoliation.  All 
sentiment  of  gratitude  toward  the  power  that  be- 
stowed these  lands  was  now  obliterated  from  the 
minds  of  the  nobility,  as  the  same  sentiment  had  dis- 
appeared from  the  remembrance  of  the  Kings  in 
regard  to  the  nobility  who  originally  elevated  them 
to  the  throne.  Charlemagne  declared  himself  to  be 
King  by  the  Grace  of  God  ;  and  scarce  a  century 
elapsed  before  the  nobles,  refusing  to  hold  their 
possessions  and  titles  from  the  crown,  resolved 
themselves  into  Counts  and  Marquises  by  the  Grace 
of  God. 

As  to  the  alleged  dismemberment  of  the  Empire, 
to  which  all  historians  have  attributed  the  rapid  fall 
of  the  Carolingian  dynasty,  but  of  which  fall  we 
believe  that  we  have  exhibited  the  true  causes — as 
to  the  supposed  dismemberment,  we  repeat,  histori- 
ans have  been  led  into  error,  because,  i"  accounting 
for  the  fall  of  the  dynasty,  they  have  sought  after 
accidental  and  political  causes,  an^  overlooked  those 
that  were  natural  and  teiTito^ial. 

An  illustration  altoge^Jfier  material  will,  we  hope, 


*  We  be"-  the  reader's  permission,  enlightened  as  we  are  by 
the  niaste'-'y  discussion  of  Augustin  Thierry,  to  present  the 
dismemberment  in  its  true  light,  and  to  discredit  the  false  view 
ur<ier  which  Montesquieu  himself,  and  so  many  who  followed 
him.  have  considered  it. 

u* 


162  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.. 

render  quite  intelligible  to  all,  the  idea  we  have  con- 
ceived of  the  dismemberment  of  a  single  great  empire 
into  nine  distinct  kingdoms. 

Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  have  been  in  Swit- 
zerland, and  ascended  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Righi. 
From  the  culminating  point  of  this  mountain,  they 
discovered  nine  lakes  enclosed  in  the  basins  fash- 
ioned for  them  by  the  hand  of  God.  Each  one  of 
these  lakes,  separated  from  its  neighbors  by  the  swell 
of  ground  that  constitutes  its  border,  differs  from  all 
the  rest  in  the  form  of  its  shores  and  the  color  of 
its  waters.  Suppose,  now,  that  from  the  snowy 
summit  of  Mount  Pilate,  one  of  those  masses  of  ice, 
which  in  that  country  of  cones  and  pinnacles  is  a 
fragment,  but  would  be,  to  us,  a  mountain  —  should 
be  precipitated  into  the  largest  of  these  lakes.  It 
would  at  once  displace  an  immense  volume  of  water  ; 
this  water  would  overflow  the  shores  of  the  lake,  and 
the  inundation  would  spread  from  valley  to  valley, 
till  all  the  intermediate  ground  was  submerged 
and  the  nine  lakes  had  V>ecome  one. 

This  immense  lake,  on  tL,  day  following  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  avalanche,  would  seem  to  have  been 
so  created  in  the  beginning  of  time  ;  although,  in  fact 
it  had  assumed  its  present  form  only  since  yesterday. 
It  would  be  a  kind  of  ocean,  apparently  of  uniform 
depth  throughout,  but  which  at  certain  spots  did  in 
truth  scarcely  cover  the  surface  of  the  earth  :  an  im- 
measurable sheet  of  water  of  uniform  hue  upon  its 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  163 

surface,  but  retaining    in   its   depths    its   primitive 
variety  of  shade. 

Let  a  traveller,  ignorant  of  these  precedent  facts, 
now  stand  upon  Mount  Righi ;  let  him  not  be  told, 
"  there  were  formerly  nine  lakes,  but  an  accident 
has  united  them  in  one,"  and  assuredly  he  will  see 
but  one,  and  will  testify  that  there  is  but  one. 

Nevertheless,  by  the  joint  action  of  the  water 
and  the  air,  the  block  of  ice  diminishes  in  size ; 
though,  while  it  remains,  it  continues  to  feed  by  its 
liquefaction  the  overflow  caused  by  its  gravitation. 
At  length,  it  resolves  itself  into  its  original  element 
and  disappears. 

The  lake,  having  now  lost  the  aliment  that  sus- 
tained its  unnatural  proportions,  begins  to  decrease. 
The  more  elevated  points  of  ground  appear  upon  the 
surface ;  the  earth  rises  and  the  flood  retires.  On 
the  disappearance  of  the  cause  that  disturbed  the 
harmony,  harmony  revives.  The  waters  slowly  sub- 
side into  their  natural  limits,  and  the  nine  lakes  at 
length  re-appear,  differing,  as  before,  in  color  and 
form. 

Now  place  the  same  traveller  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Righi ;  let  him  count  the  lakes  ;  and  ask  him 
the  causes  of  the  change  :  he  will  give  you  all  but 
the  true  one  ! 

Thus  was  it  with  the  dominions  of  Charlemagne  : 
a  heterogeneous  empire,  to  which,  however,  conquest 
gave  the  appearance  of  homogeneity :  an  ocean  of  men 


164  THE    FRANK    MONARCHY. 

who,  judging  by  the  surface,  composed  one  nation  ; 
while  a  hardy  diver,  phinging  into  its  depths,  might 
discover  various  races,  opposite  customs,  and  nine 
languages  :  a  sheet  of  water,  the  expanse  of  which 
was  restricted  only  by  colossal  boundaries,  the 
intermediate  ones  being  overwhelmed  by  the  tide. 

But  when  the  hand  that  grasped  these  nations  was 
frozen  in  death ;  when  the  genius  that  controlled 
them  had  departed  ;  when  the  source  of  this  warlike 
inundation  was  dried  up ;  the  Franks  retired  like 
the  straying  waters  of  the  flood.  The  boundaries 
of  the  kingdoms,  submerged  by  the  empire,  re-ap- 
peared. Each  nation  rented  in  its  own  valley ;  each 
man  returned  to  the  home  where  his  language, 
habits  and  manners  invited  him.  It  is  true,  the  sons 
of  a  common  father  continued  for  a  time,  to  reign 
over  these  divided  nations  ;  but  the  King  here  adopt- 
ed the  usages  of  his  subjects  without  seeking  to 
impose  his  own  upon  them  :  and  these  Kings,  from 
having  been  Franks,  became  Italian,  German,  Bur- 
gundian,  according  as  chance  impelled  them  to  the 
throne  of  Italy,  Germany,  or  Burgundy.  They 
declared  war  according  to  the  exigencies  of  those 
over  whom  they  reigned,  against  those  who  reigned 
around  them,  and  took  small  pains  to  ascertain  the  de- 
gree of  consanguinity  by  which  they  were  originally 
united.  They  cared  not  for  the  reproach  of  unnatu- 
ral brother,  or  ungrateful  son,  so  long  as  they  pre- 
served the  title  of  King. 


THE    FRANK    MONARCHY.  165 

So  have  we  seen,  in  our  own  time,  the  hand  of  a 
man  of  genius  seize  from  the  fields  of  modern 
Europe,  an  empire  like  that  of  Charlemagne.  The 
brothers  of  this  man  became  the  royal  prefects, 
whom  he  installed  in  the  countries  that  he  van- 
quished :  the  capitals  of  which  were,  severally,  the 
manor-houses  or  country  seats  of  these  new  depart- 
ments of  France.  For  a  time,  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions  of  men  were  submissive  to  this 
Emperor's  commands.  For  a  time  he  heard,  in 
nine  different  idioms,  the  shouts  "  Vive  Napoleon  ! 
Napoleon  the  Great !"  For  he,  also,  like  the  ava- 
lanche, had  caused  France  to  overflow ;  and  the 
inundation  had  submerged  continental  Europe. 

When  the  man  who  raised  the  flood-gates  of  con- 
quest had  fallen,  did  we  not  see  each  nation  subsiding 
to  its  own  place  —  each  chief  town  of  the  department 
becoming  a  capital  1  Have  we  not  seen — to  push 
the  comparison  to  its  termination — the  brothers  and 
generals  of  this  man  become  Italians  or  Swedes ; 
adopting  the  cause  of  their  people  against  that  of 
their  country ;  marching  at  the  head  of  foreign 
soldiers  against  France,  their  mother;  and,  in  order 
to  preserve  the  title  of  King,  receiving  and  meriting 
the  reproach  of  unnatural  brothers  and  ungrateful 
sons  1 


PART     THIRD 


FRANCE. 


THE     NATIONAL     RACE 


THE  FRENCH  MONARCHY. 


HUGH     CAPET 


The  care  with  which  we  have  detailed  the  con- 
test between  the  national  party  and  the  Frank 
dynasty,  under  the  second  race,  renders  it  unneces- 
sary for  us  to  combat  the  opinion  —  as  radically  false 
as  it  is  generally  received  —  that  the  accession  of 
Hugh  Capet  to  the  throne  was  an  act  of  usurpation. 
The  Duke  of  Paris  was  unanimously  elected  to  the 
sovereign  dignity  by  the  unbought  vote  of  his  peers:* 
a  vote  which  was  nothing  less  than  a  faithful  echo 
of  the  whole  people's  choice. 

But  the  France  over  which  he  was  called  to  reign 
was  no  longer  the  realm  of  Charlemagne.  The 
very  existence  of  peers  —  a  title  which  we  have  now, 
for  the  first  time,  pronounced  —  demonstrates  that 
the  King  was  merely  at  the  head  of  his  equals.  And 
although  France  still  extended  from  the  Meuse  and 


*  Nee  isle  Hugo,  regni  invasor  aut  usurpator  aliqualiter  est 
indicandus  queni  regni  proceres  elegerunt.  —  Nangis. 
15 


170  The    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

the  Scheldt  to  the  Ebro,  and  from  the  shores  of  the 
Rhone  to  those  of  the  Ocean,  we  shall  discover  that 
he  who  bore  the  name  of  its  sovereign  possessed  but 
the  smallest  portion  of  this  vast  territory. 

There  were  seven  of  these  peers  —  though  Hugh 
afterward  increased  the  number  to  twelve ;  and 
this  latter  number  was  unchanged  until  the  time  of 
Froissard,  who  styles  them  the  twelve  brothers  of  the 
kingdom.  These  seven  peers  possessed  the  follow- 
ing portions  of  the  realm ;  and  what  remained 
belonged  to  the  Kinsf. 

I.  Eren-hulf,  or  Arnulph  II.,  Count  of  Flanders, 
was  master  of  the  territory  lying  between  the  Scheldt, 
the  Somme  and  the  sea  : 

II.  Here-bert  or  Herbert,  Count  of  Vermandois  : 
whose  possessions  were,  the  county  of  Senlis,  a  por- 
tion of  the  Isle  of  France,  and  a  portion,  also,  of 
Picardy  and  Champagne  : 

III.  Hein-rick,  or  Henry,  (brother  of  Hugh 
Capet)  Duke  of  Burgundy  :  who  occupied  all  that 
portion  of  the  duchy  of  Burgundy  that  was  not 
tributary  to  the  domains  of  Conrad  the  Pacific : 

IV.  Rik4iard  or  Richard  (brother-in-law  of  Hugh 
Capet,)  Duke  of  Normandy  and  Brittany.  His 
possessions  have  already  been  specified  (see  page  132) 
in  the  detail  of  the  concession  of  Ivarl-le-Simple  to 
Hrolf  the  Dane,  the  same  forming  the  most  powerful 
vassalage  in  the  kingdom.  Moreover  the  Dukes  of 
Normandy  claimed  to  be  free  from  the  obligation  of 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  171 

furnishing  troops  to  the  Kings  of  France  ;  and 
they  were  sufficiently  wealthy  to  keep  their  masters 
in  pay  : 

V.  Wil-helm,  or  William,  Sancho,  Duke  of  Gas- 
cony,  commanded  the  whole  extent  of  country 
between  the  Dordogne,  the  Garonne,  the  Pyrenees, 
and  the  two  seas.  But  this  dominion  soon  after 
became  an  arriere-fief,  and  passed  under  direct 
seignorage  to  the  Dukes  of  Guyenne  : 

VI.  Raymond,  Count  of  Toulouse ;  who  to  the 
country  of  that  name,  joined  the  principality  of  Lan- 
guedoc  and  the  Duchy  of  Septimanie.  At  a  later 
period,  a  descendant  of  this  Count  became  one  of  the 
most  powerful  feudatories  of  the  crown,  under  the 
title  of  Duke  of  Narbonne  : 

VII.  And,,  lastly,  Wil-helm  of  William,*  sur- 
named  Fier-a-bras,  Duke  of  Guyenne,  or  Aquitania, 
whose  fief  would  have  been  the  largest  of  the  realm, 
had  he  been  able  to  keep  it  entire  under  his  own 
control.  But,  in  the  midst  of  the  general  confusion, 
the  lords  of  Bourbon,  the  Dukes  of  Auvergne,  and 
the  Counts  of  Bourges,  Angouleme,  La  Marche  and 
Perigord  formed  to  themselves,  severally,  independ- 
ent establishments  in  the   Duchy,   and    held    their 


*  We  sh:ill  now  find  proper  names  undergoing  a  third  trans- 
formation and  taking  the  orthography  that  they  have  retained 
to  the  present  day. 


172  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

possessions  by  a  right  of  ownership  and  with  scarcely 
any  feudal  tenure. 

After  these  partitions,  there  would  have  remained 
to  the  King  of  France  nothing  but  a  part  of  Soisso- 
nois,  the  city  of  Laon,  and  some  towns  of  Champagne, 
if  Hugh  Capet,in  ascending  the  throne,  had  not  added 
to  these,  certain  disjointed  parcels  of  territory  which 
were  his  own  individual  property,  viz.,  the  county  of 
Paris,  the  Orleanais,  the  Chartrain  country,  Perche, 
the  county  of  Blois,  Touraine,  Anjou  and  Maine. 

But  Hugh  Capet  was  scarcely  seated  on  the  throne 
ere,  like  Peppin-le-Bref,  he  abrogated  the  principle 
to  which  he  owed  his  elevation,  and  sacrificed  the 
secular  to  the  spiritual  authority,  by  causing,  in  his 
own  life-time,  his  son  Robert  to  be  consecrated 
King  of  France.  This  example,  followed  succes- 
sively by  Henry  I.,  Philip,  Louis  VI.,  and  Louis 
VH.,  secured  to  the  dynasty  an  hereditary  sove- 
reignty of  eight  centuries  ;  which  strengthened, 
from  its  commencement,  the  right  of  primogeniture, 
as  established  by  an  ordinance  of  993.  This  instru- 
ment declared  that  henceforward  the  title  of  King 
shall  be  given  to  the  eldest  son  only,  and  he  shall 
have  precedence  and  authority  over  his  brothers, 
who  are  to  venerate  him  as  their  lord  and  father,  and 
are  to  have  no  other  portion  than  the  lands  he  shall 
assign  them  in  appanage  ;  these  lands  shall  be  held 
of  the  crown,  to  which  the  brothers  owe  homage. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  173 

and  shall  be  augmented  or  diminished    according  to 
the  good  pleasure  of  the  King.* 

From  the  example  of  Peppin  and  from  his  own 
experience,  Hugh  had  learned  that  the  office  of 
Mayor  of  the  Palace  and  Duke  of  Paris  was  dan- 
gerous to  the  sovereignty;  as  it  concentrated,  in 
the  hands  of  one  vassal,  powers  almost  regal.  He 
therefore  determined  to  abolish  the  office  ;  but  he 
was  too  prudent  to  avow  his  motives.  He  called  an 
assembly  of  the  peers  and  declared  to  them  that, 
holding  all  in  equal  regard,  being  equally  grateful 
to  all,  appreciating  equally  the  rights  of  all,  and  not 
wishing  to  sow  dissension  among  them  by  advan- 
cing one  of  their  number  to  a  station  which  he 
sincerely  wished  he  could  grant  to  all  in  common,  as 
all  were  equally  worthy — he  intended  to  bestow 
the  office,  in  their  name,  on  his  son,  whom  France 
had  educated  and  nourished  for  her  service,  and 
whom  he  would  constitute  their  representative.  He 
thus  confiscated  to  his  own  advantage  a  dignity 
which,  entrusted  to  other  hands  than  those  of  his 
heir,  might  be  a  bar  to  his  ambition ;  "  and,  there- 
fore," says  Jean  de  Serre,  "  he  put  an  end  to  it,  but 
gave  it  a  gilded  sepulchre,  burying  it  in  the  royal 
family-  He  created  in  its  place  the  office  of  Con- 
stable, which,  embracing  less  power,  was  propor- 
tionably  less  dangerous." 


*  Jean  de  Serre. 
15* 


174  THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  hereditary  principle,  which  in  our  time,  we 
regard  as  pernicious,  hecause  it  perpetuates  itself 
in  the  midst  of  a  society  already  organized,  was 
necessary,  in  the  times  of  which  we  write,  to  consoli- 
date a  society  yet  in  its  growth.  The  son,  by 
inheriting  the  throne,  was  enabled  to  follow  out  the 
paternal  idea  and  perfect  the  feudal  system,  which 
determined  the  hierarchical  organization  of  the  tur- 
bulent lords,  —  who  were  always  ready  to  cut  down 
the  tree  before  it  could  yield  its  fruit.  By  losing 
the  right  to  create,  the  lords  lost  also  the  power  to 
destroy.  Royalty  was  no  longer  forced  to  call 
on  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Popes  to  combat 
the  temporal  power  of  the  lords  ;  and  the  blow  that 
struck  the  noblesse,  reached  also  the  Church,  in  its 
recoil.  From  the  moment  that  the  monarchy  became 
hereditary,  it  became  independent  of  the  two  influen- 
ces from  which,  until  then,  it  had  been  constrained 
alternately  to  invoke  assistance;  and  being  no  longer 
under  the  necessity  of  conceding  to  the  one  in 
order  to  obtain  aid  from  the  other,  it  was  enabled 
to  maintain  the  balance  between  both  and  preserve 
the  supremacy. 

The  feudal  organization,  thus  established,  created 
manners  and  customs,  consolidated  institutions,  and 
gave  us  great  men  and  great  events,  great  names  and 
great  mementoes :  it  was  contemporary  with  the  birth 
of  chivahy — the  Crusades — and  the  enfranchisement 
of  the  Communes.  This  was  the  heroic  ajje  of  France. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  175 

The  exposition  we  have  given  of  the  results,  ren- 
ders it  unnecessary  to  give  a  detail  of  the  acts,  of 
Hugh  Capet's  reign.  We  shall  merely  state  that, 
under  him,  Paris  became  once  more  the  capital  of 
the  realm:  a  prerogative  that  she  lost  under  the 
second  race,  but  preserved  under  the  third, 

Hugh  died  in  the  year  996.  His  son,  Robert, 
succeeded  to  the  throne.  He  had  been  previously 
consecrated  at  Rheims,  (in  990,)  and,  with  the  per- 
mission of  the  French  prelates,  had  man'ied  his 
kinswoman.  Bertha.*  For  this  act,  he  was  excom- 
municated by  the  Pope  ;  but,  for  a  time,  he  struggled 
against  the  interdict.  The  Pope  next  placed  the 
whole  kingdom  under  ban.  The  Church  immedi- 
ately discontinued  divine  worship  ;  refused  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments  and  to  bury  the  dead  in  holy 
gi'ound.  The  King's  household  at  length  abandoned 
hira  with  the  exception  of  two  faithful  domestics ; 
and  even  they  threw  into  the  fire  every  thing- con- 
taminated by  his  use. 

Robert  was  forced  to  submit;  for  the  desertion 
of  the  nobles  and  the  murmurs  of  the  populace 
made  him  fearful  of  a  general  revolt.     The  Capetian 


*  She  was  the  widow  of  Eudes,  CoUntof  Chartres  and  of  Blois, 
and  daughter  of  Conrad,  King  of  Burgundy.  The  two  incen- 
tives to  the  excommunication  promulgated  by  Pope  Gregory 
were,  that  Robert  had  held  at  the  baptismal  font  a  child  of  Bertha 
by  a  former  marriage;  and,  that  Robert  and  Bertha  were  cou- 
sins in  the  fourth  degree.  —  Duchesne,  vol.  iv.  p.  85, 


176  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

dynasty  was  not  yet  deeply  rooted  in  the  soil,  and  the 
si  gh test  tempest  might  upturn  it.  Bertha  was 
repudiated  in  997,  bearing  with  her  the  poor  conso- 
lation of  the  title  of  queen,  which  she  retained  until 
her  death. 

Constance,  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Provence, 
was  her  successor.  She  was  young  and  beautiful, 
capricious  and  haughty.  Born  in  a  voluptuous  cli- 
mate, nourished  under  a  southern  sun,  imbued  with 
the  customs  and  the  oriental  literature  with  which  the 
Arabs  had  embellished  Spain  and  Languedoc- — sire 
and  her  suite  formed  a  singular  contrast  to  the  frigid 
forms  of  the  French  court.  A  taste  for  poetry  began 
soon  to  2>revail, —  a  common,  national,  maternal 
poetry.  The  language,  also,  was  changed  :  it  was 
divided  into  two  idioms  ;  that  of  the  North  and  that 
of  the  South :  the  langue  d'  Oyl,  adopted  by  the 
trouveres  ;  and  the  langue  d'Oc,  by  the  troubadours. 
Guy  d'Arezzo  invented  the  six  musical  notes.*  Har- 
mony succeeded  to  Psalmody ;  the  national  song  to 
the  Latin  hymn;  and  France,  now,  possessed  a  litera- 
ture of  her  own.t 


*  Ut,  re,  mi,  fa,  sol,  la.  It  was  not  until  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  after,  that  si  was  imagined  by  a  Frenchman 
named  Lemaire. 

t  This  change  was  considered  by  contemporaneous  authors 
as  a  calamity,  permitted  by  heaven  to  visit  the  nation  on  account 
of  its  sins.  Raoul  Glaber  thus  speaks  of  it:  "  We  deem  it  right  to 
relate,  at  the  close  of  this  third  volume,  the  vengeance  by  which 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  177 

It  was  a  new,  sonorous,  and  brilliant  literature, 
that  borrowed  nothing  from  other  nations,  but  drew 
all  its  treasures  from  its  own  resources ;  and  it  be- 
came, like  all  primitive  literature,  the  history  of  the 
people  who  invented  it. 


the  Lord,  the  author  of  all  good,  caused  humankind  to  expiate 
its  guilt  and  insolence.  About  the  year  1000  of  the  Incarnation, 
when  King  Robert  had  espoused  Constance,  princess  of  Aqui- 
tania,  the  indulgence  of  the  queen  opened  the  gates  of  France 
and  Burgundy  to  the  natives  of  Aquitania  and  Auvergne. 
These  vain  and  frivolous  men  were  as  foppish  in  their  manners 
as  in  their  dress.  Their  arms  and  the  trappings  of  their  horses 
were  equally  neglected:  their  hair  scarcely  covered  the  half  of 
their  heads :  they  shaved  off  their  beards  like  the  jongleurs,  and 
wore  boots  that  were  unseemly.  Alas !  the  Franks  (formerly  so 
virtuous)  and  the  rude  people  of  Burgundy  soon  imitated  these 
criminal  examples  and  faithfully  reflected  all  the  perversity  and 
infamy  of  their  models.  If  a  priest,  or  a  man  loving  and  fear- 
ing God,  ventured  to  reprove  such  conduct,  his  zeal  was  treated 
as  folly.  Nevertheless,  father  William,  setting  aside  all  vain 
human  respect,  and  giving  himself  up  to  the  promptings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  shai-ply  rebuked  the  kihg  and  queen  for  tolerating 
such  indignities  in  their  realm —  a  realm  renowned  above  all 
others  for  its  attachment  to  honor  and  religion.  At  the  same 
time,  he  addressed  such  eloquent  and  severe  reproaches  to  the 
nobles  of  inferior  rank,  that  some  few  renounced  the  new  fash- 
ions and  returned  to  their  former  innocence  of  life.  The  holy 
man  plainly  saw  the  finger  of  Satan  in  these  innovations  ;  and 
was  convinced  that  a  person  interred  with  this  livery  of  the 
devil,  could  never  get  rid  of  it  to  all  eternity.  Notwithstanding, 
these  pernicious  customs  were  adopted  by  the  greater  number; 
seeing  which,  I  have  directed  against  them  the  following  heroic 
verses : — 


178  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

While  this  literary  revolution  was  occupying 
general  attention,  the  political  revolution  was  con- 
solidating itself. 

The  king  disallowed  the  right  of  his  uncle,  Henry 
of  Burgundy  (who  died  without  issue)  to  bequeath 


[Tliis  extract  is  given  in  English  literally  and  line  for  line : 
it  does  not  seem  worth  the  labor  of  paraphrase  or  versification, 
as,  in  the  original,  it  possesses  no  claim  to  the  ambitious  dis- 
tinction of  foelrij,  beyond  the  fact  of  being  divided  into 
irregular  lines,  (without  rhymes)  each  of  which  commences 
with  a  capital  letter.] 
"A  thousand  years  after  the  Virgin  had  given  our  Lord  to 

the  world 
Men  precipitated  themselves  into  the  most  dreadful  errors. 
Yielding  to  the  fascination  of  change, 

We  purpose  to  regulate  our  manners  after  the  new  mode, 
And   this   imprudent  fondness  for   novelty  drags    us  into 

the  midst  of  dangers. 
Past  centuries  are  to  ours  but  objects  of  ridicule ; 
A  mixture  of  frivolity  and  turpitude  corrupts  our  manners  ; 
The  minds  of  men  have  lost  all  taste  for  what  is  serious  and 

have  no  shame  of  vice  ; 
Honor  and  justice,  the  guide  of  good  men,  have  no  longer 

any  value. 
The  fashion  of  the  day  serves  to  form  disfigured  tyrants 
With   clipped    garments,    whose   honesty    in    contracts    is 

equivocal. 
The  degenerate  republic  sees  these  effeminate  manners  with 

trembling. 
Fraud,  violence,  all  crimes  dispute  for  the  universe; 
The  saints  no  longer  receive  homage ;  religion  is  no  more 

venerated. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  179 

his  duchy  to  Otho  William,  son  of  his  duchess  by  a 
previous  marriage  :  and  Robert  invaded  Burgundy, 
and,  after  a  five  years'  war,  subdued  it  and  gave  it 
to  Prince  Hqnry,  his  second  son. 

On  his  return  to  Paris,  he  was  appiized  of  the  rise 
of  a  new  sect  in  his  dominions  that  rejected  the  mys- 
teries and  sacraments.  At  the  head  of  this  sect 
were,  Stephen,  the  queen's  confessor,  and  Lisoie, 
prebendary  of  St.  Croix  d'Orleans.  A  council  was 
called  in  that  city  to  try  the  heretics,  and  it  condemned 
them  to  be  burned.  The  king  and  queen  were 
present  at  the  infliction  of  the  punishment,  and  the 
latter,  with  a  rod  that  she  carried  in  her  hand,  put 
out  the  eye  of  her  former  confessor.  It  was  to  this 
execution,  more  than  to  the  Latin  hymns  he  com- 
posed, that  Robert  was  indebted  for  the  surname, 
Pious. 

About  this  time,  some  Normans  who  were  return- 
ing from  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Land,  arrived  at 


Here,  the  ravages  of  the  sword,  there,  famine  and  pestilence 
Cannot  reform  men  from  their  errors,  nor  wean  them  from 

their  impiety ; 
And  if  the  goodness  of  the  Almighty  did  not  suspend  His 

just  anger, 
Hell,  ere  this,  had  ingulphed  them  all  in  its  bottomless  abyss. 
Such  is  the  power  of  this  wretched  habit  of  sinning; 
The  more  faults  one  commits,  the  less  he  fears  to  commit 

them  again ; 
The  less  he  is  guilty,  the  more  he  dreads  to  become  so." 


180  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

the  principality  of  Salerno  as  the  Saracens  were 
besieging  its  capital.  They  threw  themselves  into 
the  place  and  conducted  its  defence  so  valiantly,  that 
the  Mahomedans  were  forced  to  raise  the  siege. 
On  their  return  to  Normandy,  these  pilgrims  recounted 
their  exploits  and  told  of  the  generous  recompense 
they  had  received  from  the  prince  they  had  delivered. 
This  excited  in  the  adventurous  spirits  of  their  com- 
patriots a  desire  of  seeking  their  fortune  in  the  same 
quarter.  One  of  these,  named  Osmon  Drogon,  con- 
strained to  flee  his  country  for  having  slain  a  noble, 
set  forth,  accompanied  by  his  four  brothers,  and  of- 
fered his  services  to  the  Prince  of  Capua.  He  ob- 
tained permission  to  lay  the  foundation  of  a  city,  and 
he  was  speedily  joined  by  Tancred  d'Hauteville  and 
his  twelve  sons  —  all  warriors  and  all  armed.  They 
at  first  repelled  the  Saracens  ;  then,  the  Greeks  ;  and 
afterward,  the  Popes.  Sicily  was  thus  won  from  the 
powers  that  disputed  for  its  possession,  and  a  new 
monarchy  arose,  of  which  Roger,  son  of  Tancred, 
was  the  first  King.  His  son,  Roger  H.,  succeeded 
him,  and  made  himself  master  of  Naples;  and  the 
sceptre  remained  with  his  descendants  until  the 
Emperors  of  the  house  of  Suabia  wrested  it  from 
one  of  them,  whom  Charles  of  France,  brother  of 
St.  Louis,  and  Count  of  Provence  and  Anjou,  after- 
ward avenged. 

While  these   extraordinary  events   were  in   pro- 
gress, Robert,  having  appeased    some   troubles   in 


THE    FRENCH    MOiNARCHY.  181 

France,  associated  his  son  Hugh  with  himself  on  the 
throne,  in  the  year  1007.  He  caused  him  to  be  re- 
cognised at  Compeigne,  in  a  general  assembly  of  the 
nation ;  and,  from  that  period,  the  name  of  Hugh 
figures  in  all  the  public  acts  after  the  name  of  the 
King,  his  father.* 

From  this  time,  the  peace  of  France  was  disturbed 
only  by  domestic  discord  caused  by  Hugh,  who  was 
dissatisfied  at  the  influence  Constance  exercised  over 
his  father,  and  at  her  harshness  toward  himself.  But 
these  contentions  were  appeased,  and  he  continued 
to  share  the  throne  until  his  death  ;  an  event  that  was 
much  regretted  by  the  nation. 

Robert  now  associated  with  himself  Henry,  his 
second  son,  whom  he  had  previously  made  Duke  of 
Burgundy.  Constance  was  desirous  that  her  third 
son,  Robert,  should  be  preferred  to  this  distinction  ; 
and  being  disappointed  in  her  wishes,  she  excited 
Robert  to  a  revolt :  but  this  was  easily  suppressed  by 
the  King;  and  Burgundy,  deprived  of  its  Duke,  was 
united  to  the  crown.  This  union  was  the  first  blow 
aimed  at  the  system  of  the  great  vassalage. 

A  last  attempt  was  made  against  the  King  at  Com- 
peigne. Twelve  conspirators  had  bound  themselves 
by  oath  to  compass  his  assassination ;  but  Robert, 
having  discovered  their  plot,  caused  them  all  to  be 
arrested.     While  the  judges  were  conducting  their 


*  Helgald,  Rvberti  vita. 
16 


182  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

trial,  the  King  ordered  the  crdprits  to  be  prepared  by 
penance  for  the  sacrament.  After  the  rite  had  been 
administered,  he  invited  them  to  dine  with  him  ;  and 
the  judge  who  brought  their  sentence  for  his  signa- 
ture, found  him  at  the  same  table  with  the  traitors. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  sentence  was  cancelled.* 
''  Soon  after  this,  the  king  fell  ill  and  died  at  Melun, 
in  the  sixty-first  year  of  his  age,  and  the  foity-fifth 
of  his  reign. 

He  was  a  mild  and  amiable  prince;  just  such  an 
one  as  was  necessary  to  growing  France,!  after 
the  reign  of  an  energetic  prince.  He  every  day 
gave  food  to  three  hundred  persons ;  and,  on  some 
days,  the  number  was  increased  to  a  thousand. 

On  Maundy-Thursday,  he  put  on  a  dress  of  hair- 
cloth, served  the  mendicants  on  his  knees,  and  wash- 
ed their  feet.  He  established  the  custom,  adopted 
by  his  successors,  of  periodically  washing  the  feet  of 
twelve  poor  people  and  serving  them  at  table  with 
the  princes  and  nobles  of  the  court.  When  he  had 
no  money  to  bestow  in  alms,  he  suffered  Jiimself  to 


*  They. were  tried  and  condemned,  and  theie  were  ag-ainst 
them  as  many  sentences  of  death  as  there  were  men.  —  Helgald. 

t  He  was  of  tall  stature,  with  soft,  well  arranged  bair,  mo- 
dest eyes,  mouth  agreeable  and  sweet  to  give  the  kiss  of  peace, 
beard  sufficiently  full,  and  shoulders  high.  "When  he  mounted 
his  royal  steed — wonderful  thing!  —  his  toes  almost  touched 
his  heels;**  which  was  considered  a  great  marvel  by  tliose.  who 
witnessed  it.  —  Helgald,  vila  Robcrli. 

**  "  Les  doigts  de  ses  pieds  rejoignaient  presque  le  talon." 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  183 

be  robbed  by  the  mendicants.  Helgald  relates  an 
anecdote  of  a  thief,  named  Rapaton,  who  knelt  be- 
hind the  King  in  church,  and,  while  he  was  prayino-, 
cut  off  a  part  of  the  golden  fringe  that  ornamented 
his  mantle,  Rapaton,  thinking  the  King  had  not 
perceived  his  theft,  prepared  to  steal  the  remainder 
of  the  fringe;  but  Robert  turned  round,  saying  mild- 
ly, "  Desist,  ray  friend ;  you  have  enough  for  your 
present  exigencies  :  what  is  left  may  be  serviceable 
to  your  companions." 

The  prerogative  of  curing  the  king's  evil  by  mak- 
ing the  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  diseased  part,  was 
first  exercised  by  Robert. 

Henry  I.  succeeded  his  father  in  1031.  He  was 
scarcely  seated  on  the  throne  when  his  mother  Con- 
stance—  always  purposing  to  place  the  crown  on 
the  head  of  her  favorite  son,  Robert  —  incited  Bald- 
win, Count  of  Flanders,  and  Eudes  II.,  Count  of 
Champagne,  to  revolt;  and  persuaded,  also.  Dam- 
martin,  Senlis,  Poissy.  Sens,  Coucy  and  Puyset  to  de- 
clare in  Robeit's  favor.  These  were  more  than  one 
half  of  the  strongholds  of  the  Duchy  of  France,  which, 
since  Hugh  united  it  to  the  crown,  had  always  been 
the  patrimony  of  the  Kings.  Henry  was  forced  to 
quit  Paris,  with  but  twelve  followers,  and  to  take 
refuge  at  Fecamp  with  Robert  II.,  Duke  of  Nor- 
mandy, whose  harshness  obtained  for  him  the  ap- 
pellation of  Robert-le-Diable.* 

*  Glabert,  frag.  hist.  m.  s.,  apud  Duches. 


184  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  vassal  gave  an  army  to  his  King,  and  the 
King  recovered  his  crown.  The  death  of  Constance, 
in  1032,  restored  tranquillity.  Robert  submitted  to 
his  brother,  who  pardoned  him  and  ceded  to  him 
the  Duchy  of  Burgundy,  over  which  this  royal  branch 
ruled  for  nearly  four  centuries.* 

Shortly  after,  Eudes,  a  younger  brother  of  the 
King,  rebelled  against  his  authority.  William,  the 
natural  son  of  Robert-le-Diable,  assisted  the  King 
to  suppress  this  reibellion  :  and  in  turn,  Henry  aided 
William  to  maintain  himself  in  the  Duchy  of  Nor- 
mandy,— his  claim  to  the  Duchy  having  been  con- 
tested on  the  death  of  Robert-le-Diable,  who  expired 
at  Nicaea  on  his  return  from  a  pilgrimage  to 
Jerusalem, 

The  remainder  of  Henry's  reign  was  spent  in 
pacifying  quarrels  of  heresy ;  instituting  the  first 
military  laws  of  the  tournay  ;  establishing  the  so- 
called  Truce  of  God,  or  the  Lord,  which  pi-ohibited 
combat,  pillage  and  bloodshed  from  Wednesday  to 
Saturday.  He  associated  with  himself  on  the  throne 
his  eldest  son  Philip,  and  caused  him  to  be  conse- 
crated on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  A.  D.  1059,  although 
he  was  but  seven  years  old.  In  1060  Henry  died 
suddenly  of  a  medicine  taken  injudiciously,  in  the 
fifty-fiflh  year  of  his  age  and  the  thirtieth  of  his 
reign. 

*  No  longer  under  the  title  of  grand  vassal,  but  holding  it  as 
an  appanage. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  185 

This  was  the  first  King  of  the  reahii  named  Henry 
—  a  name  fatal  to  all  sovereigns  who  have  borne  it 
in  France.  Henry  I.  was,  as  we  see,  probably  poi- 
soned. Henry  II.  was  killed  in  a  tournament  by 
Montgomery.  Henry  III.  was  assassinated  by 
Jacques  Clement.  Henry  IV.  was  stabbed  by  Ra- 
vaillac.  And  Henry  V.,  born  an  orphan,  lives  in 
exile,  between  the  tomb  of  his  father  and  the  prison 
of  his  mother  ;*  a  helpless  child,  doomed  to  expiate 
the  faults  of  a  race;  an  unresisting  innocent  taken 
for  sacrifice  in  place  of  the  guilty  ;  a  victim,  immola- 
ted between  defunct  royalty  and  an  unborn  republic, 
in  honor  of  that  strange  goddess  'yclept  Trmisition. 

The  reigns  of  Henry  I.  and  of  his  son  Philip  I., 
both  of  which  were  longt  and  peaceful, |  were  most 
opportune  for  the  still  young  and  feeble  kingdom  of 
France.  They  were  the  fostering  reigns  during 
which  those  great  events  were  germinated  that  soon 
afterward  appeared  above  the  sui-face  of  the  soil.  They 
prepared  the  way  for  the  middle  age,  so  imperfectly 
understood  even  in  our  day — an  age  of  iron;  of  ven- 
turous heads,  of  mighty  arms  and  pious  hearts.    The 


♦  Whenever  these  references  to  the  present  day  occur,  the 
reader  must  bear  in  mind  that  M.  Dumas's  work  was  published, 
originally,  in  1833. 

+  Together,  sixty  years. 

%  The  reign  of  Henry  passed  amid  disturbances  too  slight  to 
agitate  the  body  of  the  realm.  —  Jean  de  Serre. 

16* 


186  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

nation,  therefore,  remained  quiescent,  for  she  was 
about  to  bring  forth  something  greater  than  the  past 
revolutions  :  she  was  about  to  give  birth  to  the  fcople 
—  the  source  of  all  future  revolutions.* 

We  shall  therefore  narrate,  not  the  reign  of  Philip, 
but  the  prominent  events  that  took  place  during 
his  reign  j,  a  reign  among  the  longest,  and  by  its  re- 
sults, the  most  important  of  the  monarchy.!  Philip 
was  one  of  those  men  who  appear  great  by  reason 
of  the  optical  illusion  through  the  medium  of  which 
their  acts  are  viewed  :  one  of  those  men  who,  like 
Francis  I.,  are  deemed  to  be  the  fathers  of  an  age, 
when  in  reality  they  are  but  its  accoucheurs. 

Indeed,  three  principal  events,  any  one  of  which 
would  have  sufficed  to  render  an  ordinary  reign 
famous — -so  spontaneously  and  unexpectedly  did 
they  arise  and  so  immense  and  influential  were  their 
results  —  occurred  during  the  reign  of  Philip. 

The    first    of  these   events   was  the   conquest  of 
Great    Britain    by    Wil-helm,    or    William,|    who, 


*  Under  the  first  race,  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church  and  under 
a  religious  form,  we  saw  tiiis  same  people  whom  we  shall  now 
see,  in  the  arms  of  the  nation,  under  a  civil  form.  It  is  a  trans- 
formation and  nothing  more.  The  people  who  entered  into 
their  chrysalis  state  with  the  robe  of  the  priest,  will  emerge  from 
it  with  the  roundabout  of  the  bourgeois. 

+  It  continued  forty-eight  years:  from  1060  till  1108. 

tThe  minutestdetails  of  this  great  event  have  become  familiar 
since  they  have  found  a,  great  liisiorian  to  narrate  them.     Now 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  187 

thereupon,  assumed  the  name  of  the  Conqueror, 
and  became  King  of  England. 

The  second  was  the  enterprise  of  the  Crusades, 
under  the  conduct  of  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  who  be- 
came King  of  Jerusalem. 

The  third  was  the  rebellion  of  the  first  Commune,* 
in  the  midst  of  which  was  born  the  French  people, 
who  became  King  of  the  world. 

We  will  not  say  that  the  first  tv/o  of  these  events 
were  the  inducing  causes  of  the  last ;  but  we  will 
essay  to  prove,  by  relating  them  in  the  order  of  their 
occurrence,  that  they  had  a  great  influence  upon  it. 

In  the  year  10G6,  Edward,  King  of  England,  sur- 
named  the  Confessor,  died  without  issue  of  his 
marriage  with  Edith.  His  death  occasioned  great 
confusion  and  troubles  in  the  kingdom,  which  the 
election  of  Harold,  son  of  Godwin,  Count  of  Kent, 
could  not  quell.  Under  these  circumstances,  Wil- 
liam the  Bastard  cast  an  eye  upon  England,  and 


that  M.  Thierry's  reputation  is  established,  it  is  somewhat 
late  for  us  to  repeat  what  so  many  have  said  before  us,  — that 
he  appears  to  be  the  only  historian  who  unites  in  so  high  a  de- 
gree the  faithfulness  of  investigation,  the  knowledge  of  causes, 
the  clearness  of  narration,  the  strength  of  style  and  the  truth  of 
details.  Nevertheless,  late  though  it  be,  we  could  not  resist  the 
desire  of  expressing  our  admiration  ;  which  the  public  and  he 
will  regard  as  the  more  sinjcere,  since  we  know  him  only  by  his 
works. 

*  Cambrai. 


188  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY, 

conceived  the  hope  of  becoming  its  sovereign.  He 
assembled,  for  his  enterprise,  an  army  of  adventurous, 
brave,  robust,  indefatigable,  and  penniless  men,  who 
had  nothing  to  lose  and  everything  to  gain.  Seventy 
vessels  were  anchored  in  the  port  of  St.  Valery;  one 
hundred  and  iifty  thousand  men  embarked  in  them, 
and  the  fleet  put  to  sea.* 

A  strange  spectacle  now  presented  itself:  an  army 
on  its  way  to  subdue  a  nation  ;  a  petty  Duke  setting 
forth  to  pluck  a  crown  from  the  head  of  a  King. 
Doubtless,  that  nation  and  that  King  for  a  time 
regarded  the  invasion  as  a  dream  ;  nor  did  either 
awake  to  a  sober  sense  of  its  reality,  until  the  nation 
was  subjugated,  and  the  King  lay  prostrate  and 
dying  on  the  field  of  Hastings. 

The  battle  continued  for  eight  hours  only ;  but 
sixty-eight  thousand  men  were  left  dead  upon  the 
field. 


*  Edward  of  England,  having  no  sons,  adopted  William 
the  Bastard  and  bequeathed  to  him  his  kingdom.  On  his  de- 
cea,se  a  certain  English  Count,  named  Harold,  seized  the  crown. 
Whereupon  the  said  William  assembled  a  considerable  army 
and  made  sail  for  England  with  seventy  vessels.  Harold, 
learning  that  the  said  William  had  entered  into  England, 
marched  against  him  in  great  force;  but,  in  the  battle,  Harold 
was  vanquished  and  slain.  William's  army  consisted  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men.  After  the  victory,  he 
marched  toward  London,  where  he  was  received  and  crowned 
on  the  day  of  our  RAVtouR's  birth.  —  Hugues  de  Fleury. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  189 

William  ascended  the  throne  of  Harold  ;  and  the 
young  King  of  France,  on  receivhig  his  kingdom 
from  the  hands  of  Baldwin,  his  regent,  learned  with 
dismay  that  he  had  a  king-vassal  more  powerful  than 
himself  It  was  a  teiTor  of  instinct;  a  presentiment 
of  evil  which  eighteen  years  afterward  was  to  be 
justified  by  a  reality — by  the  first  ravages  of  a  war 
between  these  two  sisters,  France  and  England,  who 
were  too  handsome,  too  jealous,  and  too  near  neigh- 
bors, to  continue  friends.  The  war  was  born  of  a 
joke,*  but  it  lasted  for  eight  centuries;  it  was  a  war 
of  extermination,  as  are  all  family  wars ;  an  inter- 
minable series  of  combats,  discontinued  by  truces, 
but  never  by  a  peace  ;  a  struggle  in  which  France, 
like  Antaeus,  always  rose  again,  but  always  after  hav- 
ing touched  the  ground. 

We  will  now  consider  the  Crusades  and  their 
causes. 

While  the  Persians  and  Egyptians  maintained  the 


*  King  William  having  become  very  fat,  had  for  a  time  kept 
his  bed.  Philip  one  day  laughingly  inquired,  when  he  was  to 
be  broughtto  bed  of  liis  big  belly  1  William  sent  answer  "  that 
he  could  not  fix  with  precision  the  day  of  his  delivery,  but  the 
King  of  France  should  have  the  earliest  information,  since  it 
was  his  intention  to  be  churched  at  St.  Genevieve  de  Paris, 
with  ten  thousand  lances  in  the  guise  of  tapers."  He  would, 
in  all'probability,  have  kept  his  word,  if  he  had  not  fallen  from 
his  horse  after  having  taken  and  burned  Mantes,  and  died  from 
the  consequences  of  the  accident, 


190  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

pre-eminence  in  Afiica,  the  Christians,  though  ha- 
rassed, enjoyed  much  freedom  in  the  exercise  of  their 
worship.  But  after  the  capture  of  Jerusalem,  in 
1076,  by  Alp-Arslan,  the  second  Sultan  of  the  Turks,* 
the  persecutions  endured  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
holy  city  became  intolerable  —  the  more  especially 
as  the  defeat,  by  the  infidels,  of  Romanus  (surnamed 
Diogenes)  Emperor  of  Constantinople,  deprived  them 
of  all  hope  of  recovering  their  liberty.  "From  this 
time,"  says  Guillaume  de  Tyr,  "  the  citizens  had  no 


*  Togrul-Bey,  son  of  Michel,  son  of  Seljouk,  was  their  first 
Sultan.  He  was  elected  in  1038,  and  reigned  until  1053.  Guil- 
laume de  Tyr  thus  narrates  his  election.  "  Having  by  common 
consent  agreed  to  give  themselves  a  King,  they  took  a  general  sur- 
vey of  the  innumerable  population,  and  from  among  all,  they  ac- 
knowledged one  hundred  families  to  be  more  illustrious  than  the 
rest.  Each  family  was  tlien  commanded  to  bring  an  arrow  ;  which 
being  done,  a  bundle  was  formed  containing  a  hundred  arrows. 
This  bundle  was  covered  by  a  mantle.  A  child  was  then 
called  and  made  to  place  his  hand  under  the  mantle  and  draw 
forth  an  arrow,  each  arrow  being  previously  marked  by  some 
designation  to  show  the  family  from  which  it  was  brought. 
The  arrow  thus  drawn  by  the  child  decided  from  which  family 
the  King  should  be  chosen.  The  lot  fell  on  the  family  of  Sel- 
jouk. From  the  tribe  of  Seljouk  there  were  then  selected  a  hun- 
dred men,  superior  to  the  rest  by  reason  of  age,  manners,  and 
virtues,  who  were  required  to  produce  a  hundred  arrows,  each 
bearing  the  name  of  the  individual  that  brought  it.  These, 
again,  were  formed  into  a  bundle,  covered  with  a  mantle,  and 
the  child,  as  before,  drew  one  forth.  It  bore  the  name  of  Sel- 
jouk, for  it  belonged  to  Togrul-Bey,  son  of  Michel,  son  of  Sel- 
jouk." 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  191 

repose,  at  home  or  abroad.  Death  menaced  them 
every  day  and  every  moment  of  the  day.  And  what 
w^as  far  worse  than  death,  they  were  forced  into 
hopeless  bondage.  No  place  was  sacred  :  even  the 
churches  that  they  had  preserved  and  repaired  were 
exposed  to  outrage  and  violation.  While  celebrating 
divine  worship,  their  churches  were  entered  by  the 
infidels,  who,  uttering  cries  of  fury  and  menaces  of 
death,  seated  themselves  on  the  altars,  overturned 
the  chalices,  trod  under  foot  the  sacred  vessels,  broke 
the  marbles,  and  heaped  reproaches  and  blows  uj^on 
the  priests.  The  patriarch  himself  was  treated  by 
them  as  an  abject  creature.  They  pushed  him  from  his 
seat,  thrust  him  to  the  ground,  and  dragged  him  about 
by  his  beard  or  his  hair;  and  afterward  cast  him  into 
a  dungeon:  all  of  which  indignities  and  injuries  were 
inflicted  that  the  people  might  be  made  to  suffer 
through  the  sufferings  of  their  beloved  priest." 

This  persecution,  however,  had  its  usual  effect : 
the  number  of  pilgrims  to  visit  the  holy  sepulchre 
was  doubled  ;  for  the  greater  the  risk  incurred  in 
accomplishing  their  vow,  the  greater  they  conceived 
to  be,  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  the  merit  of  its  per- 
formance. The  majority  of  these  pilgrims  were 
Greeks  and  Latins ;  but  some  were  Normans.  On 
reaching  the  gates  of  Jerusalem,  half  naked,  exhausted 
with  fatigue  and  dying  with  hunger,  they  were  forced 
to  pay  a  piece  of  gold  for  the  privilege  of  entering 
the  city  —  which  money  was  exacted  under  the  name 


192  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

of  tribute.  Those  who  were  unable  to  comply  with 
this  demand,  —  and  their  number  was  large  —  were 
crowded  together  in  the  environs  of  the  city,  more 
wretched  than  ever.  Here,  reduced  to  nakedness 
and  scorched  by  the  sun,  they  finally  died  of  thirst 
and  famine.  The  dead  and  the  living  were  equally 
an  expense  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  :  for  they 
were  forced  to  bury  the  one,  and  to  deprive  them- 
selves of  every  thing  to  support  the  other. 

One  day,  a  priest  appeared  in  the  midst  of  this 
suffering  multitude.  He  had  encountered  and  es- 
caped a  host  of  perils  ;  he  had  suffered  innumerable 
hardships,  without  seeming  to  have  felt  them, 
although  a  man  of  diminutive  stature  and  of  misera- 
ble external  appearance.  He  presented  himself  at 
one  of  the  gates  ;  and,  on  the  usual  demand  as  to 
his  name  and  origin,  he  replied  that  his  name  was 
Peter ;  that  his  counti-ymen  surnamed  him  The 
Hermit ;  and  that  he  was  bom  in  the  bishopric  of 
Amiens,  in  the  kingdom  of  France.  He  paid  the 
customary  tribute  and  entered  the  city. 

He  was  a  man  of  ardent  faith  and  irrepressible 
ambition  :  ambition  that  had  for  its  object  the 
things  of  Heaven,  for  which  he  strove  as  zealously  as 
others  do  for  the  things  of  earth.  The  woes  and 
persecutions  which  overwhelmed  the  Christians 
around  him  instigated  him  to  undertake  a  mighty 
enterprise. 

As   soon,  therefore,  as   he  had  paid  his  devotions 


THE  FREiNCU    MONARCHY.  193 

in  the  sacred  places,  he  requested  and  obtained  from 
Simon,  patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  a  letter,  in  which 
were  carefully  and  minutely  detailed  the  calamities 
of  the  faithful.  This  the  patriarch  sealed  with  his 
seal  to  give  it  authenticity,  and  he  then  bestowed 
his  benediction  on  Peter ;  who,  resuming  his  staff, 
left  the  city  and  repaired  to  the  port  of  Jafta,  where 
he  found  a  vessel  ready  to  sail  for  Apulia.  He  em- 
barked at  once,  made  a  prosperous  voyage,  landed 
at  Genoa,  proceeded  to  Paris  and  thence  to  Rome, 
where  he  presented  himself  before  Pope  Urban  II., 
and  placed  in  his  hand  the  patriarchal  letter.  To  this 
he  added  his  own  testimony,  touching  the  miseries 
of  the  faithful  and  the  abominations  committed  by 
the  accursed  Mussulmans  in  the  holy  places  of  Jeru- 
salem.* 

The  holy  father  was  moved  by  the  confidence  with 
which  the  Christians  of  the  East  looked  for  aid  from 
their  brethren  of  the  West.  He  called  to  mind  the 
words  of  Tobit — "  O,  Jerusalem  !  the  holy  city,  he 
will  scourge  thee  for  thy  children's  works  and  will 
have  mercy  again  on  the  sons  of  the  righteous. 
Give  praise  to  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good  ;  and  praise 
the  everlasting  King,  that  his  tabernacle  may  be 
builded  in  thee  again  with  joy,  and  let  him  make 
joyful  there  in  thee  those  that  are  captives,  and  love 
in  thee  for  ever,  those  that    are  miserable.     Many 

*  Guillaume  de  Tyr. 
17 


194  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

nations  shall  come  from  far  to  the  name  of  the  Lord 
God  with  gifts  in  their  hands,  even  gifts  to  the  King 
of  heaven  ;  all  nations  shall  praise  thee  vi^ith  great 

joy."*  ... 

He  therefore  resolved  to  urge  all  Christian  prin- 
ces to  take  up  arms,  and,  by  their  united  power, 
deliver  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  sacrilegious 
hands  of  the  infidels. 

In  furtherance  of  this  design  he  crossed  the  Alps, 
descended  into  Gaul  and  stopped  at  Clermont,  where 
he  convoked  a  council.  On  the  ajipointed  day,  fol- 
lowed by  Peter,  he  entered  into  the  chamber 
where  three  hundred  and  seventy  prelates  were  as- 
sembled from  the  dioceses  of  Italy,  Germany  and 
France. 

The  discourse  addressed  to  them  was  simple, 
eloquent  and  concise.  It  was  a  representation  of 
the  sufferings  endured  by  their  brethren  in  the  East : 
suiferings  predicted  by  King  David  and  the  prophet 
Jeremiah.  It  essayed  to  prove  from  the  Scriptures 
that  the  Lord  loved  Jerusalem  above  all  other  cities  ; 
and  that  the  malediction  pronounced  against  Hagar 
was  designed  for  the  Saracens — styled  at  that  period, 
Hagarites  or  Ishmaelites — who  were  therefore  accur- 
sed and  would,  consequently,  be  vanquished. 

This  discourse  which  appealed  to  their  religious 
and   warlike  sympathies  —  i.   e.   to    the  two  great 

*  Tobh  ( Apocri/pha)  xn\.,  9.  10.  11. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  195 

necessities  of  the  period,  had  a  prodigious  and 
instantaneous  effect.  Each  prelate,  walking  in  the 
path  opened  for  him,  returned  to  his  diocese  dissemi- 
nating the  words  of  war  and  saying,  with  St.  Mat- 
thew, "  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword." 

The  result  of  this  general  exhortation  to  arms  was 
the  separation  of  husbands  from  wives,  and  fathers 
from  sons.  No  tie  was  of  sufficient  strength,  no  love 
of  sufficient  power,  no  danger  of  sufficient  terror,  to 
restrain  those  who  arose,  like  the  multitudinous  waves, 
at  the  words  of  God.  The  zeal  for  religion,  how- 
ever, was  not  the'  sole  incentive  to  this  great  coali- 
tion. Some  joined  the  Crusade  that  they  might  not 
be  separated  from  their  friends  who  had  joined  it; 
others,  to  escape  the  imputation  of  apathy  or  cow- 
ardice ;  others,  to  avoid  their  creditors ;  and  others, 
again,  from  recklessness,  a  taste  for  adventure,  or  a 
predilection  for  new  scenes  and  new  excitement. 
But,  be  the  motive  what  it  might,  immense  numbers 
gathered  themselves  to  the  great  rendezvous  of  the 
Western  nations,  exclaiming,  "It  is  the  will  of  God: 
it  is  the  will  of  God  !" 

The  heroes  of  the  first  Crusade  assembled  in  the 
spring  of  1096.  Among  the  most  conspicuous  of 
its  leaders  were  — 

Hugh  the  Great,  brother  of  King  Philip,  the  first 
and  the  most  enthusiastic  of  all.  He  crossed  the 
ocean  and  disembarked  at  Durazzo  with  the  Franks 
under  his  command : 


196  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Bohemond  of  Apulia,  son  of  Robert  Gui^card,  a 
Norman  by  birth,  took  the  same  route  with  the 
Italian  troops : 

Godefroy  de  Bouillon,  Duke  of  Lower  Lorraine, 
traversed  Hungary  with  a  numerous  army,  and 
reached  the  Holy  City,  which  he  was  destined  to 
deliver  and  to  rule  as  King  : 

Raymond,  Count  of  Toulouse,  passed  through 
Sclavonia,  with  an  army  composed  entirely  of  Goths 
and  Gascons : 

Robert,  son  of  King  William  of  England,  took  the 
route  through  Dalmatia  with  a  host  of  Normans  : 

And,  lastly,  Peter  the  Hermit,  and  a  noble  called 
Walter  the  Penniless,  followed  by  a  multitude  orga- 
nized into  companies  of  infantry,  took  their  way 
through  the  kingdom  of  the  Teutons  and  descended 
into  Hungary.* 

The  general  rendezvous  was  in  the  environs  of 
Nicaea ;  and  the  crusading  army  when  it  arrived 
before  that  city  —  though  diminished  to  one  quarter 
of  its  original  size  by  fatigue,  famine,  desertion  and 
defeat — was  still  so  considerable  that  it  seemed, 
says  Anna  Comnena,  "  as  if  Europe,  shaken  from 
her  foundations,  was  about  to  fall  upon  Asia."  In 
fact,  if  we  may  credit  contemporaneous  authors,  the 
number  of  those  who  first  took  up  the  Cross  ex- 
ceeded six  millions  of  men. 

♦  Foulches  de  Chartres,  —  Guillaume  de  Tyr. 


TUE    FRE^fC^    MONARCHY.  197 

Europe  now  inundated  Asia,  as  Asia  had  formerly 
spread  itself  over  Europe.  The  Mohammedan 
nations  issuing  forth  from  Arabia,  had,  in  their  migra- 
tion, conquered  Syria  and  Egypt,  followed  the  coast 
of  Africa,  leaped  the  Mediterranean  as  if  it  had  been 
a  rivulet,  crossed  the  Pyrenees  as  they  would  have 
marched  over  a  hillock,  rushed  upon  Provence,  and, 
as  we  have  before  related,  expired  between  Tours 
and  Poictiers,  under  the  exterminating  sword  of  Karl- 
le-Martel. 

The  Christians,  in  turn,  accomplishing  the  reac- 
tion of  revenge,  marched  from  the  place  where  the 
Saracens  had  fallen  ;  followed  through  Europe  the 
opposite  shores  of  the  same  sea,  crossed  the  Bospho- 
rus  and  attacked  the  Sons  of  the  Prophet  on  the 
very  spot  whence  they  had  originally  set  forth  to 
attack  the  followers  of  Christ.* 

Let  us  now  abandon  the  Crusade  before  Niceea  as 
we  abandoned  the  conquest  of  England  at  Hastings, 
—  and  return  to  France. 

As  soon  as  the  national  party  had  tnumphed  by 
the  substitution  of  the  Capetian  for  the  Carolingian 
race,  the  people  —  after  six  centuries  of  servitude  — 
concluded  that,  as  the  nobles  were  justified  in  disem- 
barrassing themselves  of  a  sovereign,  they,  also,  were 


♦  CnATEADBEiAND,  Eludes  HisloTiqucs. 
17* 


198  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

entitled  to  be  relieved  from  subjection  to  the  nobles  ; 
and  this  political  theory,  once  adopted,  was  never 
abandoned. 

Cambrai  was  the  first  city  that  reduced  this  theory 
to  practice :  she  resolved  to  constitute  herself  a 
Commune. 

Gilbert  de  Nogent,  a  viriter  of  the  twelfth  centuiy, 
gives  us  the  definition  of  Commune  in  his  autobio- 
graphy :  "  The  meaning  of  this  novel  and  execrable 
word  is,  that  the  serfs  will  no  longer  pay  their 
masters  the  rent  they  owe  them  except  once  a  year; 
and,  if  they  commit  any  offence,  they  must  be  par-- 
doned  on  payment  of  a  legal  fine.  As  for  other  levies 
of  money  that  it  w^s  customary  to  impose  on  the 
serfs,  they  are  all  annulled.* 

We  could  not  have  given  a  better  definition  of  the 
word,  commune,  than  the  reverend  abbe,  in  his  holy 
indignation,  has  recorded. 

As  early  as  the  year  957  —  that  is,  sixty  years  after 
a  national  party  had  sprung  up  in  France  by  the 
election  of  Eudes  to  the  prejudice  of  Charles  the 
Simple  —  the  inhabitants  of  Cambrai  attempted  to 


*  Communio,  autem,  novum  ac  pessiinum  nomcn,  sic  se 
habet,  ut  capite  censi  omnes  solitum  servitutis  debitum  dominis 
semel  in  anno  solvant,  et,  si  quid  contra  jura  deliqaerint,  pen- 
sione  legali  emendent ;  cseterEE  censuum  exactiones,  quee  servis 
irifligi  sclent,  omnimodis  vacent.  —  Guibertos  aJia.';,  de  vi/d 
sua. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHV.  199 

form  themselves  into  a  commune*  during  a  tempo- 
rary absence  of  their  bishop.  When  his  reverence 
returned  from  the  court  of  the  Emperor  of  Germany, 
he  found  the  gates  of  the  city  closed  against  him. 
He  then  appealed  to  the  Emperor  for  aid  ;  who 
granted  him  an  army  of  Germans  and  Flemings, 
with  which  he  returned  to  the  rebellious  city.  The 
inhabitants  were  terrified  into  submission,  broke  their 
compact,  and  opened  the  gates  to  the  bishop. t 

He,  however,  was  far  from  being  appeased  by  their 
submission.  But,  on  the  contrary,  mortified  and  ex- 
asperated that  the  serfs  of  his  own  city  should  have  re- 
fused him  an  entrance  and  renounced  his  authority, he 
determined  to  inflict  summary  vengeance  upon  them. 
He  marched  the  army  into  the  town  where  the  sol- 
diers pursued  the  conspirators  even  into  the  churches 
and  butchered  them  without  mercy.  When  the  vic- 
tors were  at  length  weary  of  slaughter,  they  consented 
to  make  prisoners  of  the  rebels  :  but  they  afterward 
mutilated  the  poor  wretches,  destroyed  their  eyes, 
and  branded  them  in  the  forehead  with  a  red-hot 
iron. I 

*  Gives  in  unum  conspirantes,  episcopo  absente,  diu  deside- 
ratum conjurArunt  communiam. —  Balderici,  Chron. 

+  AuGusTiN  Thierry,  Letter  xvi. 

t  Novum  genus  spectaculi :  continuo  namque  armali  iimen 
sanctissimseaedis  absque  reverential  modo  irrump.entes,  alios  irt- 
terfecerunt,  alios,  truncatis  manibus  et  pedibus,  demembr&runt : 
quibusdam  vero  oculos  fodiebant,  quibusdam  frontes  ferro 
ardente  rvotabant. —  Balderici,  Ckron. 


200  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Here,  again,  the  monstrous  severity  of  the  perse- 
cution defeated  its  own  object.  Far  from  stifling  by 
terror  the  germs  of  revolt  that  were  swelling  in  the 
hearts  of  the  Cambraisians,  it  augmented  their  desire 
to  be  relieved  from  such  atrocious  domination.  In 
the  year  1024,  a  new  attempt  at  deliverance  led  to 
another  imperial  interference  and  another  ecclesiasti- 
cal suppression.  Forty  years  afterward,  the  inhabit- 
ants again  took  up  arms ;  and  three  armies, —  of 
which,  one  still  belonged  to  the  German  empire  — 
once  more  wrested  them  from  their  grasp.*  At  length, 
taking  advantage  of  the  troubles  that  followed  the 
excommunication  of  Henry  IV.  of  Germany,  which 
obliged  this  Emperor  to  give  his  sole  attention  to  his 
own  affaii's,  the  Cambraisians,  assisted  by  the  Count 
of  Flanders,  for  the  fourth  time  proclaimed  their 
commune.  This,  too,  was  destroyed  in  1107,  but  it 
was  soon  after  re-established  upon  such  a  just  and 
solid  basis  that  it  served  as  a  model  to  other  towns, 
which,  by  their  partial  and  successive  enfranchise- 
ment, anticipated  the  general  liberty  of  France. 

The  immunities  that  the  Cambraisians  owed  to  a 
long,  bloody,  and  mortal  opposition,  to  ecclesiastical 
power  formed  so  singular  a  contrast  to  the  thraldom 
of  the  other  towns,  that  contemporary  writers  re- 
garded their  constitution  as  an  anomaly.  "  What 
shall  I  say,"  exclaims  one  of  them,  "  concerning  the 
liberty  of  this  city  1     Neither  bishop  nor  Emperor 

♦  Histoire  de  Cambrai.  —  Augustin  Thierry. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  201 

may  there  levy  taxes  ;  no  tribute  can  be  exacted 
from  her,  and  no  army  is  permitted  to  approach  her 
walls,  save  for  the  defence  of  the  commune."* 

The  author  of  this  extract  has  given  a  picture  of 
ecclesiastical  rights  destroyed  :  the  following  is  a 
description  of  secular  rights  created. 

The  citizens  of  Cambrai  formed  their  town  into  a 
commune.  They  chose  from  among  themselves, 
by  an  elective  vote,  twenty -four  jurors,  who  were 
compelled  to  assemble  every  day  at  the  hotel-de 
ville,  the  court-house.  The  administration  and  the 
judicial  functions  were  divided  between  them.  Each 
juror  was  obliged  to  entei'tain,  at  his  own  expense, 
a  valet  and  a  saddle-horse,  so  as  always  to  be  in 
readiness  to  ti'ansport  himself  without  delay  wher- 
ever the  duties  of  his  office  might  render  his 
presence  necessary. 

This  was  a  complete  trial  of  the  democratic  power, 
cast,  like  a  lost  child,  into  the  midst  of  feudal  France. 
The  historians  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries 
give  to  the  enfranchised  towns,  or  those  endeavoring 
to  become  such,  the  name,  sometimes,  of  republict 
and  sometimes,  of  commune. 


*  Gluid  autem  de  libertate  hujus  urbis  dicam  1  Non  episcopus 
non  imperator  taxationem  in  ea  facit;  non  tributum  ab  ek  exi- 
gitur,  non  denique  exercitum  ex  ea  eduxit,  nisi  tantum  modo 
ob  defensionem  urbis. 

t  Facta  est  dissensio  Remis,  et  respiMica  conjurata  a  civi- 
bus.  —  Chron.  Remcus. 


202  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

Noyon  soon  followed  the  example  of  Cambrai, 
but  with  much  less  difficulty.  Its  bishop,  Baudri  de 
Sarchainville,  (from  whose  memoirs  we  have  drawn 
our  Latin  quotations  and  authorities  relative  to  the 
revolution  of  Cambrai)  was  a  man  of  information,  of 
sound  judgment,  and  possessing  the  power  to  justly 
appreciate  events.  He  saw  that  a  new  order  of 
things  had  come  into  the  world  and  that  the  bantling 
was  too  strong  to  be  smothered :  so  that  the  wiser  plan 
was  to  anticipate  necessity,  and  not  to  be  overtaken 
and  crushed  by  it.  Therefore  in  the  year  1108,  some 
days  before  the  accession  of  Liouis-le-Gros  to  the  thrmie, 
he,  of  his  own  choice,  called  together  all  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town,  who  for  a  length  of  time  had 
desired  a  commune  and  who,  by  disputes  with  the 
metropolitan  clergy,  were  preparing  for  a  change. 
To  this  assembly,  composed  of  artisans,  tradesmen, 
students  and  even  knights,  he  presented  the  draught 
of  a  charter  bestowing  on  the  inhabitants  the  privi- 
lege of  electing  their  own  jurors,  guarantying  to 
them  tlie  exclusive  ownership  of  their  property,  and 
making  them  amenable  only  to  their  municipal 
magistrates.  This  was  conceding  more  freedom 
than  we,  at  the  present  day,  enjoy.  Our  modern 
municipal  council  bears,  indeed,  some  resemblance 
to  the  ancient  juries  ;  but  over  this  council  a  mayor 
of  the  King's  appointment  presides. 

It  may  well  be  supposed  that  this  charter  was  joy- 
fully received  and  fervently  sworn  to  by  the  people. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  203 

After  Louis-le-Gros  ascended  the  throne,  he  was 
called  on  to  grant  his  sanction  to  this  charter  because 
Noyon  was  situated  in  that  portuM  of  Picardy  which 
was  holden  of  the  King  of  France. 

We  italicise  some  words  in  the  preceding  para- 
graphs because,  following  the  thread  of  our  narration, 
and  anticipating  the  reign  of  Louis-le-Gros,  we  con- 
sider this  the  fitting  place  to  discredit  the  prevailing 
belief  that  to  this  monarch  belongs  the  honor  of 
enfranchising  the  communes. 

The  communes,  as  we  have  seen  from  the  ex- 
ample of  Cambrai  and  Noyon,  and  are  yet  to  see 
from  that  of  Laon,  were  enfranchised  by  their  own 
spirit  of  liberty  and  supported  the  enfranchisement 
by  their  own  proper  strength.  The  subsequent  ap- 
proval of  such  enfranchisement  by  the  bishop,  or  by 
the  King  if  the  bishop  held  tenure  of  him,  was  a 
simple  ceremonial  rite  which,  on  an  emergency,  the 
communes  might  dispense  with;  but  which,  from 
policy,  the  King,  the  nobles  and  the  bishops  desired 
to  make  a  merit  of  conceding  to  the  already  emanci- 
pated inhabitants,  whom  they  found  themselves 
unable  to  reduce  to  their  former  servitude.  It  is 
with  this  view  that  history,  as  servile  as  a  courtier, 
and  the  Charter  of  Louis  XVIIL,  as  false  as  history, 
wrongfully  award  to  Louis-le-Gros  the  idea  of  en- 
franchisement which,  for  a  hundred  and  sixty  years 
preceding  his  epoch,  had  been  germinating  in  the 
hearts  of  the  inhabitants  of  many  of  our  towns. 


204  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

In  fact,  besides  the  two  communes  that  Louis-le- 
Gros  found  already  established  when  he  ascended 
the  thi'one  in  1108,  there  were  two  others,  instituted 
as  early  as  1102.  These  were,  the  Commune  of 
Beauvais,  of  plebeian  origin,  as  is  verified  by  the 
letters  of  Yvon;*  and  that  of  St.  Quentin.  The 
charter  of  this  latter  city  was  granted  by  Raoul, 
Count  of  Vermandois  ;t  who,  j)owerful  as  he  was, 
did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  require  its  ratification 
by  the  then  reigning  monarxh  —  Philip  I.   . 

As  the  history  of  the  Commune  of  Laon  belongs 
to  the  reign  of  Louis-le-Gros,  we  shall  omit  the 
further  cojisideration  of  it  for  the  present.  Our  sole 
object  was  to  demonstrate,  by  precise  dates,  the  fact 
that  four  communes  were  already  established  in  the 
environs  of  Paris  when  the  prince  who  enjoys  the 
honor  of  projecting  this  general  emancipation  as- 
cended the  throne  of  France. 

Having  now  briefly  considered  the  three  great 
events  of  the  reign  of  Philip  I.;  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, the  fii'st  Crusade,  and  the  enfranchisement  of 
the  communes  ;  it  remains  for  us  to  show  what  influ- 
ence the  first  two  exerted  over  the  third. 


*  Turbulenta  conjuratio  factae  communionis.  —  Epistohe 
Ironis,  Carnolensis  episcopi,  apud  acript.  rcr.  franc. 

t  Cum  priiDum  communiaacquisita  fuit,  omnes  Viromandise 
pares,  et  omnes  clerici,  salvo  ordine  suo,  omncsque  milites, 
salva  fidelitate  comitis,  firmiter  tenendam  juraveiunt.  —  Re- 
cueil  des  ordonnances  des  rois  de  France. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  205 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind,  that  when  Charles 
the  Simple  surrendered  to  the  Danish  chief,  by 
treaty,  the  two  fine  provinces  of  Normandy  .and 
Brittany,  his  governing  motive  in  the  concession  was 
to  secure  to  himself,  in  the  midst  of  France,  a  firm 
and  powerful  ally  :  so  that,  in  case  he  should  be 
deserted  by  the  German  Emperor,  he  might  success- 
fully resist  the  encroachments  of  the  national  party, 
who  were  eager  for  the  overthrow  of  the  Carolingian 
dynasty,  and  whose  leaders  were  such  men  as  Rod- 
bert,  Hugh-the-Great,  and  Here-bert,  Count  of 
Vermandois. 

It  will  also  be  remembered  that  the  Dukes  of 
Normandy,  disappointing  the  hopes  of  Charles  the 
Simple,  had,  in  accordance  with  the  promptings  of 
their  interest,  alternately  lent  their  aid  to  the  national 
and  to  the  Carolingian  cause.  Eventually,  however, 
Rik-hard  attached  himself  permanently  to  the  na- 
tional party  by  becoming  the  brother-in-law  of 
Hugh  Capet,  and  promoting  his  election  to  the 
throne.  From  this  period  until  the  Conquest  of 
England  by  the  Normans,  the  good  understanding 
between  the  two  powers  was  uninterrupted  :  and, 
probably,  had  William  remained  Duke  of  Normandy 
and  Brittany,  instead  of  becoming  King  of  England, 
Philip  would  have  found  him  an  efficient  ally  in 
repressing  these  growing  communes  —  especially,  as 
William  might  have  had  reason  to  fear  that  the  senti- 
ment of  liberty,  thus  manifesting  itself  in  the  domin- 
18 


206 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHV. 


ions  of  the  King  and  of  his  brother  nobles,  would 
soon  create  disturbances  in  his  own.  But  when  he 
abandoned  a  simple  duchy  for  the  conquest  of  a 
great  kingdom,  he  divested  Normandy  and  Brittany 
of  their  importance  ;  reducing  them  to  mere  appen- 
dages of  the  English  crown  —  to  fiefs  of  a  monarchy 
which  held  its  seat  of  empire  beyond  the  sea  —  to  a 
sort  of  foot-hold  that  Great-Britain  retained  in  the 
kingdom  of  France. 

But,  in  the  event,  so  far  was  William  from  becom- 
ing the  ally  of  Philip,  although  he  had  been  his  vassal 
while  Duke  of  Normandy,  that  he  became  his  rival 
when  he  ascended  the  throne  of  England,  and  after- 
ward his  determined  and  victorious  enemy.  Wil- 
liam's son,  William  Rufus,  inherited  his  father's 
animosity  and  bequeathed  it  as  an  heir-loom  to  his 
successor  :  so  that  Philip,  in  place  of  receiving  assist- 
ance from  Normandy  to  suppress  the  communes, 
was  glad  to  unite  with  the  communes  against  Nor- 
mandy. 

It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  Norman  Conquest 
indirectly,  but  efficaciously,  encouraged  the  popular 
sedition  and  commotion  that  began  to  agitate  France 
under  the  reign  of  Philip. 

The  Crusades  had,  and  thereafter  were  to  have, 
a  more  direct  bearing  upon  the  same  result. 

The  influence  they  already  exercised  was  this  : 

The  nobles,  obedient  to  the  summons  of  Peter  the 
Hermit,  urging  them  to  deliver  the  Tomb  of  Christ 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCH V.  207 

from  the  infidels,  earned  in  their  train  all  the  soldiers 
they  could  muster  in  the  provinces  under  their 
respective  control ;  and,  consequently,  the  seigneu- 
rial  authority  almost  vanished  from  France.  The 
clergy  —  and  even  a  portion  of  the  clergy  accompa- 
nied the  nobles  —  the  clergy,  we  say,  and  the  people 
therefore  remained  alone  and  in  opposition  to  each 
other.  The  clergy,  by  becoming  proprietors  of  im- 
mense landed  possessions,  ceased  to  feel  a  commu- 
nity of  interest  with  the  serfs,  who  had  no  domains. 
As  the  priests  became  rich,  they  ceased  to  be  of  the 
people  ;  and  the  moment  they  ceased  to  be  the 
equals  of  the  lower  classes,  they  became  their 
oppressors.  When  the  people  determined  to  orga- 
nize themselves  into  communes,  they  had  but,  in  a 
measure,  to  struggle  against  the  ecclesiastical  power ; 
since  the  most  "influential  and  the  bravest  nobles  — 
whom,  unquestionably,  they  could  not  successfully 
have  resisted  —  were  absent  from  the  kingdom,  and 
therefore  unable  to  i'epress  these  insurrectionary 
movements,  which,  from  their  very  impunity,  led  to 
a  general  commotion. 

The  influence  that  the  Crusades  were  thereafter  to 
exert  may  be  thus  explained  : 

The  nobles,  departing  at  such  short  notice  for  the 
Holy  Land,  in  order  to  defray  the  expenses  of  so 
long  a  journey,  were  obliged  to  sell  a  part  of  their 
domains  to  the  clergy.  The  money,  so  raised,  was 
iraprovidently  dissipated  by  these  prodigal  knights 


208  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  frugal  townsmen  and 
trades-people,  who  had  undertaken  to  supply  the 
army  and  had  furnished  the  armor  and  eqviipage  for 
the  horses.  Soon,  also,  an  immense  traffic  in  mer- 
chandise followed  the  Crusade,  and  extended  itself  to 
the  North,  by  Hungary,  into  Greece ;  and  to  the  South, 
by  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  into  Egypt.  With 
the  enjoyment  of  the  comforts  of  life,  came  the  desire 
of  retaining  them.  The  method  of  preserving  them 
to  the  poorer  classes  was  evidently  such  a  constitu- 
tion as  should  guaranty  their  social  and  political 
rights  :  and  the  means  of  procuring  such  a  constitu- 
tion were  to  be  found  in  emancipation. 

From  this  moment,  then,  the  emancipation  of  the 
people  began,  and  its  progress  was  not  arrested  until 
it  had  attained  its  end  —  Liberty. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  monarchical  power  which 
was  destined  to  be,  at  length,  the  sole  remaining  ene- 
my of  Liberty,  in  order  that  when  it,  in  turn,  was 
overthrown,  Liberty  should  be  not  merely  the  queen 
but  the  Goddess  of  the  world  —  the  monarchical  pow- 
er, from  this  time,  and  from  similar  causes,  gain- 
ed ground  over  the  temporal  power  of  the  nobles 
and  the  spiritual  power  of  the  clergy.  Thence- 
forward the  feudal  system,  enfeebled  by  this  pious 
migration,  was  no  longer  arrayed  against  the  royal 
authority  ;  but  was,  rather,  its  defensive  weapon  ;  a 
buckler  protecting  it  from  the  enemy  and  the  people, 
but  which  was  at  length  struck  from  the  regal  arm  by 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  209 

foreign  and  civil  war.  Thus,  from  the  termination 
of  the  eleventh  century  the  march  of  the  monarchical 
power  and  the  popular  authority  was  onward.  Feu- 
dalism, the  daughter  of  barbarism,  was  the  mother 
of  Monarchy  and  Liberty — twin  sisters,  one  of  whom 
was  destined  to  stifle  the  other. 

The  revolutions,  then,  that  for  eight  centuries  have 
swept  over  France,  took  their  rise,  by  feeble  and  im- 
perceptible gradations,  from  the  foot  of  Philip's 
throne  ;  and,  swelling  from  age  to  age,  are  precipi- 
tated in  immeasurable  proportions  into  the  midst  of 
our  own  epoch. 

Thus,  amid  the  Aljis,  a  child  may  leap  over  the 
sources  of  four  great  rivers  which,  in  their  onward 
and  impetuous  course,  trench  all  Europe,  and  pour 
into  four  different  seas  their  tributary  waters.* 

We  will  now  briefly  consider  some  of  the  lesser 
events  of  Philip's  reign ;  events  which  are  almost 
lost  in  the  shadow  of  thethree  gi*eat  ones  just  related. 

Philip,  in  conformity  to  the  precaution  of  the  Kings 
of  the  third  race,  caused  his  son,  Louis,  to  be  conse- 
crated during  his  own  life-time. 

The  Romance  language  became  more  and  more 
perfected :  the   earliest  Provencal    poets  appeared 


*  The  Rhone,  which  throws  itself  into  the  Mediterranean  ; 
the  Danube,  into  the  Black  Sea ;  the  Po,  into  the  Adriatic ;  and 
the  Rhine,  into  the  Ocean. 

18* 


210  THE    FKENCH    MONAROIIV. 

under  the  name  of  Troubadours  ;  and  the  first  Neus- 
trian  poets,  under  the  name  of  Trouveres. 

The  crusading  knights — in  the  midst  of  an  armed 
host  composed  of  many  millions  of  men,  who  spoke 
thirty  different  languages  —  found  it  necessary  to  have 
some  rallying  signal  for  their  own  retainers,  and  they 
therefore  adopted  certain  external  symbols  to  meet 
this  exigency.  On  their  return  from  the  Holy  Land, 
these  symbols  were,  from  habit  or  from  ostentation, 
retained ;  and  those  who  had  no  such  distinction 
already,  imitated  the  example  from  envy.  This  was 
the  origin  of  armorial  bearings. 

In  1088,  St.  Bruno  founded  the  Order  of  the 
Chartreuse  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains  of  Dau- 
phiny. 

A  new  order  of  architecture  was  introduced 
during  this  reign  and  applied  to  the  construction  of 
churches.  It  received  the  name  of  Gothic,  and 
occupied  a  middle  ground  between  the  decline  and 
the  revival  of  Roman  architecture. 

During  the  same  reign,  important  events  occurred 
in  other  countries  contiguous  to  France. 

The  Cid — the  Hero  of  Spain — subdued  Toledo 

and    New  Castile  to  the  authority  of  Alphonso  VI.* 

Henry  IV.,  Emperor  of  Germany,  deposed  Pope 

Gregory  VII. — who  excommunicated  and  dei:)osed 

him  (the  Emperor)  in  turn.t 

»  In  1073.  t  In  1076. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  211 

Jerusalem  was  taken  by  the  Crusaders,*  and 
Godefroy  de  Bouillon  was  proclaimed  her  King. 

William  Rufus  was  killed  in  the  chase,  and  Henry 
I.  ascended  the  English  throne. t 

All  these  things  were  accomplished  at  home,  or 
were  about  to  be  accomplished  abroad,  when  Philip  I. 
expired  at  Melon  in  the  year  1108  in  the  fifty-seventh 
year  of  his  age.     His  son  Louis  VI.  succeeded  him. 

Louis  VI.,  —  usually  styled  Louis-le-Gros  (the 
Fat),  was  one  of  those  men  who  have  the  good  for- 
tune to  be  born  at  the  right  time,  and  to  be  endowed 
with  moral  qualities  exactly  adapted  to  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  period.  On  coming  to  the  throne,  he 
ascertained  the  position  of  France  and  estimated  his 
own  strength  ;  and  he  conceived  that  royalty,  in  an 
age  when  society  was  organizing  itself,  ought  to  be 
a  sovereignty,  and  not  a  suzcraijieti.X  He  devoted 
his  energies,  therefore,  to  the  perfection  of  this 
design  :  and  his  reign  was  a  sort  of  programme  of 
the  grand  drama  performed  by  Louis  XL 

One  man  powerfully  aided  him  in  laying  the  foun- 
dation of  his  monarchical  edifice.  He  was  neither  a 
Mayor  of  the  palace,  formidable  for  his  arms ;  nor 

*  In  1099.  tin  1100. 

t  We  have  no  English  word  corresponding  to  suzeTaln6lc, 
and  it  may  be  necessary  to  state  that,  during  the  feudal  ages, 
the  King  was  but  a  lord  suzerain,  or  lord  paramount,  among 
his  peers  ;  a  sovereign,  in  our  acceptation  of  the  term,  holds  a 
higher  rank  than  this,  and  possesses  superior  attributes  of 
power. 


212  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

a  Count  of  Paris,  influential  for  his  domains  :  but  a 
simple  abbe  of  St.  Denis ;  a  man  of  genius ;  a 
co-regent  after  the  manner  of  Sully  and  Colbert ; 
a  minister,  in  fact,  in  the  modern  (political)  accepta- 
tion of  the  word.     This  man  was  Suger. 

Owing  to  the  partial  contests  waged  by  Louis-le- 
Gros  against  the  feudal  system,  and  to  the  skilful 
management  of  the  royal  domains,  —  to  which  Suger 
attached  the  lands  bought  from  the  lords  pre^^ous 
to  their  departure  for  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  for- 
tresses taken  from  rebellious  and  vanquished  vassals 
—  a  central  and  regular  government  began  to  pre- 
vail from  the  very  commencement  of  this  reign. 

Royalty  slipped  its  feudal  leading-strings  ;  tried 
its  first  steps;  claimed  the  privileges  incident  to  its 
peculiar  conformation ;  and  stood  forth  a  supreme 
power;  a  power  that  would  do  little  for  national 
liberty,*  but  much  for  forming  and  perpetuating  a 
government. 


*  We  have  shown  that  Louis-le-Gros  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  enfranchisement  of  the  communes.  In  corroboration  of 
our  own  opinion  we  quote  the  following  from  M.  Guizot;  a 
man  whom  we  admire  as  a  historian  as  much  as  wo  dislike 
him  as  a  minister: —  "I  think  it  is  without  reason  that  to 
them  (Louis-le-Gros  and  Suger,)  the  honor  is  ascribed  of  the 
first  enfranchisement  of  the  communes.  This  event  occurred 
before  their  day,  proceeded  from  causes  independent  of  their 
agency,  was  accomplished  without  their  concurrence,  and  was 
opposed  as  often  as  seconded  by  them." — Fr.  Guizot,  Notice 
sur  Suger. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  213 

Even  during  the  life-time  of  his  father,  Louis  had 
commenced  the  work  of  concentration  ;  for  he  was 
aware  how  much  vexation  Philip  had  suffered  from 
the  nobles  entrenched  in  their  castles  on  the  very 
territory  belonging  to  the  crown.  The  chateau  of 
Montlery,  among  others,  which  belonged  to  Guy  de 
Truxel,  son  of  Milon,  commanded  the  high-way 
from  Paris  to  Orleans,  ;  "  So  that,"  says  Suger, 
"  the  depredations  of  this  lord  produced  such  em- 
barrassment and  disorder  in  the  communication 
between  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  towns,  that  they 
were  forced  to  make  the  journey  in  large  companies 
capable  of  defending  themselves." 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  Philip  became  master  of 
this  almost  impregnable  castle,  by  the  marriage  of 
one  of  his  sons*  with  the  daughter  of  Guy  de  Truxel, 
he  admonished  Louis  always  to  retain  it ;  "  for," 
said  he,  "  the  vexations  arising  from  it  have  turned 
my  hair  gray  ;  and  that  lord's  damnable  wiles  and 
stratagems  have  never  allowed  me  an  instant's  quiet 
or  repose." 

Louis,  on  becoming  King,  took,  successively,  the 
castles  ofGournay,  Sainte-Severe,  Ferte-Beaudouin, 
and  Roche-Guyon  ;  and,  improving  the  opportunity 
offered  by  a  revolt  of  hfs  brother  Philip,  he  made 
himself  master  of  the  citadel  of  Mantes  and  this 
same   fortress   of  Montlery,   of  which,    despite   his 

*  Philip,  a  son  by  the  Countess  of  Angers. 


214  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY, 

father's  caution,  be  had  imprudently  dispossessed 
himself.  After  taking  all  these  fortresses,  he  laid 
siege  to  the  castle  of  Puyset,  the  reduction  of  which, 
though  apparently  of  easy  achievement,  cost  him 
three  years  of  contest — just  the  amount  of  time  con- 
sumed by  the  Crusaders  in  conquering  Palestine. 

Continuing  the  labour  of  rooting  out  these  signo- 
ries  from  the  royal  domain,  as  a  gardener  would  erad- 
icate the  weeds  from  his  beds,  he  marched  against 
the  chateau  of  Nogent  and  forced  it  to  suiTender  : 
then,  continuing  his  course  into  Bourges,  he  took 
Germigny,  and  sent  Aymon,  its  chatellan,  into 
France,  leaving  this  fortress,  as  he  had  done  all  the 
others,  under  the  care  of  men  devoted  to  his  interest. 

Soon  after,  foreign  war  claimed  his  attention. 
Henry  I.,  of  England,  had  landed  in  Normandy ;  and, 
desirous  of  extending  his  dominions  in  France,  and 
not  unwilling  to  testify  his  hereditary  hatred  of  the 
nation,  had  taken  up  the  interminable  duel  where 
William  Rufus  left  it. 

The  first  encountei's  were  of  little  moment  to  either 
party;  but  on  the  twentieth  of  August,  1119,  the 
French  army  was  defeated  at  Brenneville.  Louis, 
however,  counterbalanced  this  disaster  by  several 
minor  victories  :  he  was  then  obliged  to  take  the 
field  against  a  more  powerful  foe. 

The  domestic  troubles  of  Germany,  having  been 
appeased  by  the  deposition  of  Henry  IV.,  his  succes- 
sor, Henry  V.,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  tranquil 


THE    F"RENCH    MONARCHY.  215 

and  mighty  empire.  He  looked  back,  now,  with 
jealous  regret  upon  the  time  of  the  Germanic  suprem- 
acy over  the  Frank  kingdom :  a  supremacy  which 
his  ancestoi's  had  been  unable  to  assert  since  the  tri- 
umph of  the  national  party.  And,  making  a  pretext 
of  the  excommunication  pronounced  against  him  at 
Rheims  by  the  Pope  Calistus,  he  prepared  to  invade 
Champagne. 

Upon  this,  Louis  made  an  appeal  as  a  sovereign 
to  his  grand  vassals,  who  would  have  regarded  them- 
selves as  his  equals  in  the  time  of  Hugh  Capet  ;*  and 
the  grand  vassals  obeyed.  Thenceforward  the  su- 
premacy of  royalty  over  feudalism  was  not  a  theory 
but  a  fact. 

The  plains  of  Rheims  were  chosen  as  the  gene- 
ral rendezvous  of  the  troops.  In  order  that  Saint 
Denis,  the  special  protector  and  patron  of  France, 
might  be  propitious  to  the  enterprise,  the  King  went 
in  person  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Denis  and  took  from 
the  altar  the  banner  of  the  county  of  Vexin,t  which 


*  Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  reply  of  Adelbert  to  Hugh 
Capet,  when  the  latter  demanded  who  made  him  a  Count  1  — 
"  Those  who  made  thee  King." 

+  This  is  the  banner  that  afterward  became  so  celebrated  un- 
der the  name  of  Orijlamme  ;  a  standard  that  must  not  be  con- 
founded with  the  banner  of  the  Franks,  nor  the  banner  of 
France.  The  former  of  these  two,  was  simply  the  cloak  of  St. 
Martin ;  the  latter,  was  of  violet  or  sky-blue  colored  velvet, 
which  Louis  the  Young,  son  of  Louis  the   Fat,  studded  with 


216  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

county,  Louis,  though  King,  held  of  that  Church  ; 
and,  receiving  it  with  great  devotion,  he  repaired  to 
the  rendezvous  (and  was  the  first  to  arrive  there)  at- 
tended by  a  handful  of  men. 


golden  fleurs-de-lys,  when  lie  brought  it  back  from  the  Holy 
Land.  Charles  V.  reduced  the  number]j  of  the  fleurs-de-lys 
to  three  in  honor  of  the  Holy  Trinity  ;  and  from  Charles  V.  to 
Charles  X.  the  three  fleurs-de-lys  were  adopted  by  our  sovereigns 
as  the  arms  of  the  kingdom  of  France. 

The  oriflamme  was  not  white,  as  many  painters  and  histori- 
ans have  represented  it.  The  origin  of  the  first  part  of  its  name 
—  the  golden  lance  to  which  it  was  attached;  and  that  of  the 
latter  part — the  color  of  the  material  of  which  it  was  made; 
ought  to  have  prevented  them  from  falling  into  this  error.  Be- 
sides, Guillaume  Guiard  has  given  a  description  of  it  in  the  four 
following  lines : 

"  Oriflamme  est  une  banni^re 

Aucun  poi  plus  forte  que  guimple, 
De  cendal  roujoyant  et  simple, 
Sans  pourtraitured'autre  affaire." 

The  Flemish  chronicles,  too,  agree  on  this  point  with  the  au- 
thor we  have  quoted.  "  He  held  a  lance  to  which  was  at- 
tached the  oriflamme,  of  a  Vermillion  samite,  in  tlie  form  of  a 
gonfalon  cut  into  three  points,  each  of  which  was  tasselled  witlr 
green  silk." 

The  testimony  of  Raoul  de  Presle,  in  his  history  of  St.  De- 
ni:,,  is  as  positive  as  that  of  the  Flemish  chronicles:  "The 
oriflamme  is  a  gilded  sword,  to  which  is  attached  a  vermillion 
banner." 

The  successors  of  Louis  the  Fat  followed  his  example,  and  the 
oriflamme  became  their  principal  ensign.     It  was  not  until  the 


THE  FRENCH   MONARCHY.  217 

But  his  summons  had  been  heard  and  heeded  by 
the  realm  at  large.  "  When,"  says  Suger,  "  our 
mighty  army  was  collected  together  from  all  parts  of 
France,  there  was  so  great  a  number  of  cavaliers 
and  men  on  foot  that  it  seemed  as  if  a  swarm  of 
locusts  covered  the  surface  of  the  earth,  not  only  on 
the  shores  of  the  rivers,  but  on  the  mountains  and  in 
the  plains."  The  army  amounted  to  nearly  three 
hundred  thousand  men. 

Nevertheless,  if  a  national  war,  a  war  against 
Germany,  had  not  been  in  agitation,  probably  the 
appeal  to  arras  would  not  have  been  so  enthusiastic- 
ally answered.  The  hatred  of  the  people  toward 
the  protectors  of  the  Carolingian  race  was  so  extreme, 
that,  in  this  case,  even  the  enemies  of  the  King  ral- 
lied around  his  standard  :  and,  among  others,  Count 


reign  of  Charles  VII.  that  it  disappeared  from  the  French  ar- 
mies; and  then,  not  because  their  faith  in  the  banner  was  de- 
creased, but  because  St.  Denis  was  in  possession  of  the  English 
and  the  King  could  not  procure  it  from  the  monastery.  In  the 
mean  time,  Joan  of  Arc  appeared  and  bore  a  white  banner  with 
the  single  word,  Jhesus,  embroidered  on  it.  The  victories  ob- 
tained under  this  new  standard  militated  much  against  the  credit 
of  the  other,  which,  indeed,  was  quite  forgotten;  and  when  the 
English  were  driven  out  of  the  kingdom,  the  banner  of  Joan  was 
adopted  in  its  stead.  Hence  the  origin  of  the  white  flag.  Nevei- 
theless,  Felibien  assures  us  that  in  1594  the  oriflamme  was  still 
among  the  treasures  of  St.  Denis  :  but  very  much  moth-eaten 
and  discolored. 

19 


218  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Thibault  himself,  came  to  his  assistance ;  although, 
continues  Suger,  "he  was  then,  with  his  uncle,  the 
King  of  England,  waging  war  against  the  Lord 
Louis." 

The  King  essayed  to  discipline  this  vast  multitude ; 
and  from  this  time  began  those  military  dispositions 
and  that  organization  of  armed  masses  that  the 
genius  of  Napoleon  canned  to  such  a  degree  of  per- 
fection. Suger  has  transmitted  the  details  of  these 
preparations  and  we  shall  quote  them  here,  as  they 
seem  to  us  extremely  curious  and,  from  their  source, 
likely  to  be  authentic. 

"  The  first  corps  was  formed  of  the  troops  from 
Rheims  and  Chalons,  six  thousand  in  number,  foot- 
soldiers*  as  well  as  cavaliers.  The  men  of  Soissons 
and  of  Laon,  not  less  numerous,  composed  the  se- 
cond. The  third  corps  consisted  of  the  Orleanese, 
the  Parisians,  the  men  of  Etampes,  and  the  multitu- 
dinous army  of  the  blessed  St.  Denis,  so  devoted  to 


*  The  foot-soldiers  were  almost  all  men  of  the  communes. 
The  militia  drawn  from  them  furnished,  until  the  time  of  Fran- 
cis I.,  the  infantry  of  the  army.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  a  body 
of  such  troops  —  who  had  no  defensive  arms  but  helmets  and 
sometimes  cuirasses  of  leather;  and  no  offensive  weapons  but 
lances  or  scythes  —  that  the  knights,  armed  cap-a-pie,  mounted 
on  horses  covered  with  iron,  and  dealing  blows  with  swords 
that  required  to  be  wielded  with  both  hands,  entered  like  reap- 
ers. This  explains  the  wondrous  feats  of  prowess  of  the 
middle-ages,  which  we  are  almost  tempted  to  regard  as  fabulous. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  219 

the  crown.  The  King,  full  of  confidence  in  his  pa- 
tron, placed  himself  at  the  head  of  these  troops.  "  It 
is  they,"  said  he,  "  who  will  aid  me  if  living,  and 
caiTy  me  if  dead."  The  noble  Hugh,  Count  of 
Troyes,  led  the  fourth  division.  The  fifth  was  com- 
manded by  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  the  Count  of 
Nevers.  Raoul,  Count  of  Yermandois,  renowned  for 
courage  and  illustrious  for  his  near  relationship  to  the 
King,  was  followed  by  a  host  of  chosen  knights  from 
St.  Quentin  and  the  adjacent  country,  well  appointed 
with  cuirasses  and  helmets,  who  were  to  compose 
the  right  wing.  The  left  wing,  by  direction  of  Louis, 
was  formed  of  the  men  of  Ponthieu,  Amiens,  and 
BeauA^ais.  In  the  lear-guard  was  placed  the  very 
noble  Count  of  Flanders  with  his  ten  thousand  fine 
troops,  and  near  him  were  stationed  William,  Duke 
of  Aquitania,  the  Count  of  Brittany,  and  the  valiant 
warrior  Foulques,  Count  of  Angers,*  It  was  pro- 
vided that  whenever  the  army  was  engaged  in  battle, 
carts  filled  with  water  and  wine  should  be  placed  on 
the  field  in  a  circle,  where  those  whom  wounds  or 
fatigue  obliged  to  quit  the  action  might  withdraw  to 
refresh  themselves  for  a  renewal  of  the  contest." 

When  the  Emperor  was  apprized  of  these  dispo- 
sitions, and  of  the  numbers  arrayed  against  him,  he  at 


*  It  is  obvious  from  this,  that  with  the  exception  of  Normandy 
and  Auvergne,  all  the  feudatories  of  France  marched  under  the 
orders  of  the  King. 


220  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

once  lost  lieart,  and  retreated  without  daring  to  risk 
a  battle.  The  King  had  great  difficulty  in  restrain- 
ing his  army  from  carrying  the  war  into  the  Ger- 
manic dominions.* 

During  these  preparations  for  war  with  Germany, 
the  King  of  England  again  essayed  to  make  himself 
master  of  the  frontier  of  Frances  bordering  on  Nor- 
mandy. But  a  single  baron,  Amaury  de  Montfort,  at 
the  head  of  a  small  body  of  troops  collected  in  Vexin, 
frustrated  his  attempts ;  and,  in  numerous  encoun- 
ters, gallantly  sustained  the  honor  of  his  country  : 
so  that  Henry,  finding  that  the  diversion  on  the  part 
of  Germany,  on  which  he  had  calculated,  had  failed 
to  further  his  own  purposes,  was  glad  to  make  pro- 
posals of  peace  to  Louis,  and  offered  to  renew  his 
homage  for  his  Duchy  of  Normandy.  The  proposals 
were  accepted. 

Louis,  being  now  disencumbered  of  his  two  pow- 
erful antagonists,  renewed  his  expeditions  against 
his  own  refractory  vassals.  His  first  movement  was 
directed  against  the  Auvergnats,  who  had  not  yet  sub- 
mitted, and  who  claimed  affinity  with  the  Romans.t 
They  had  disregarded  his  summons  to  the  field,  and 

*  On  receiving  news  of  his  retreat,  nothing  but  the  prayers 
of  the  archbishops,  bishops,  and  men  reverenced  for  their  piety, 
sufficed  to  restrain  the  French  troops  from  carrying  devastation 
into  this  prince's  dominions  and  pillaging  the  unfortunate  in- 
habitants.—  SuGER,  Life  of  houis-le-Gros. 

t  Avernique  ausi  Latios  se  fingere  fratres, 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY/  221 

Louis  soon  found  occasion  to  make  them  repent  of 
their  temerity. 

The  bishop  of  Clermont,  expelled  from  his  See  by 
William  IV.,  Count  of  Auvergne,  sought  refuge  and 
aid  from  the  King  of  France.  Louis  granted  him 
both.  He  assembled  an  army,  pursued  the  Auverg- 
nats  into  their  mountains  ;  took,  one  after  another, 
their  castles  which  they  thought  impregnable  —  being 
built  on  the  summits  of  the  rocks  ;  obtained  posses- 
sion of  Clermont  their  capital ;  restored  to  God  his 
Church,  to  the  clergy  its  fortresses,  to  the  bishop  his 
city ;  re-established  peace  between  him  and  the 
Count;  and  caused  that  peace  to  be  ratified  by 
numerous  hostages  and  by  the  most  sacred  vows.* 

He  was  equally  successful  in  his  next  two  expedi- 
tions. The  first  was  against  the  assassins  of  Charles 
the  Good,  nephew  of  Robert,  Count  of  Flanders, 
surnamedthe  Jerusalemite  on  account  of  his  exploits 
in  the  Holy  Land.  Louis  attacked  them  in  the  city 
of  Bruges,  made  them  all  prisoners,  and  in  the  first 
place  condemned  to  death  the  two  principal  instiga- 
tors of  the  murder.  As  the  nature  of  the  punishment 
inflicted  in  any  particular  age  is  a  test  of  the  civiliza- 
tion to  which  that  age  has  attained,  we  shall  describe 
what  these  convicts  suffered. 

"Bouchard,"  says  Suger,  "  was  bound  upon  an 
elevated  wheel,  where  he  remained  exposed  to  the 


*  Suger;  Life  of  Louis  le-Gios. 
19* 


222  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

voracity  of  crows  and  birds  of  pi'ey,  which  picked. out 
his  eyes  and  mangled  his  face.  After  this,  he  was 
pierced  by  arrows,  darts,  and  javelins,  airned  at  him 
from  below,  and  he  died  in  the  most  cruel  tortures. 
His  body  was  then  thrown  in  a  ditch. 

"His  accomplice,  Berthold,  was  suspended  on  a 
gibbet  with  a  dog.  The  dog  was  worried  by  the 
spectators  ;  and,  every  time  he  was  struck,  he  vented 
his  rage  by  biting  and  tearing  the  culprit's  face. 

^' The  other  prisoners  who  had  been  shut  up  by 
Lord  Louis  in  a  tower,  were  taken  to  the  top  of  it 
and,  successively,  thrown  off  to  be  dashed  in  pieces 
at  the  bottom,  in  sight  of  their  relations." 

The  King  now  marched  against  the  chateau  de 
Couci,  near  Laon,  belonging  to  Thomas  de  Marie :  an 
execrable  being,  who  oppressed  the  Holy  Church 
and  respected  neither  God  nor  man. 

Thomas  was  soon  defeated,  mortally  wounded  by 
Raoul,  Count  of  Vermandois,  and  taken  to  Laon. 
The  next  day,  his  defences  were  broken  up,  and  his 
property  confiscated  to  the  crown. 

Louis  —  notwithstanding  his  extreme  corpulence 
—  conducted,  in  person,  three  other  expeditions. 
The  first,  against  the  chateau  de  Livry,  belonging  to 
Amaury  de  Montfort;  and  the  other  two,  against  the 
fortresses  of  Bonneval  and  Chateau-Renard,  belong- 
ing to  Count  Thibault.     All  three  fell  into  his  hands. 

Having  followed  royalty  in  its  contest  with  the 
nobles,  let  us   now  follow  the    communes  in  their 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  223 

• 

Struggle  Avith  royalty  :  and  as  the  history  of  one  town 
is,  essentially,  the  history  of  all,  in  details  as  well  as 
results,  we  shall  take  as  an  example  the  revolution 
of  Laon ;  concerning  which  Guibert  de  Nogent  gives 
us  the  most  minute  particulars. 

The  See  of  the  cathedral  of  Laon  had  remained 
vacant  for  two  years,  when  the  King  of  England 
(who  industriously  scattered  through  the  French 
dominions  individuals  on  whom  he  could  rely)  suc- 
ceeded, by  means  of  promises  and  presents,  in  obtain- 
ing the  bishopric  for  Gaudry,  his  referendary,  who, 
however,  had  never  received  any  higher  orders  than 
the  clerkship,  nor  led  any  other  life  than  that  of  a 
soldier.  Notwithstanding  this  odd  novitiate,  he  re- 
ceived the  Episcopal  unction  in  the  church  of  St. 
Ruffin.  The  text  chosen  for  the  services  of  that  day 
was,  as  it  chanced,  prophetic  for  him  :  "  Yea,  a 
sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also." 

After  the  ceremony,  the  new  bishop  left  the  church 
on  horseback,  wearing  the  mitre  and  arrayed  in  his 
official  robes,  to  repair  to  his  palace  accompanied  by 
Guibert  de  Nogent  and  a  young  priest.  On  his  way, 
he  met  a  peasant  armed  with  a  lance  ;  and,  warming 
with  the  recollection  of  his  military  achievements 
among  the  English,  he  seized  the  lance  from  the 
countryman,  spurred  his  horse,  and,  bi'andishing  the 
weapon  as  if  in  pursuit  of  a  foe,  he  struck  witli  much 
address  a  sapling  by  the  road-side.  Guibert,  on 
aeeing  this  very  worldly  action,  could  not  refrain 


224  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

from  saying  that  the  lance  in  the  hand  ill  accorded 
with  the  mitre  on  the  head.* 

Three  years  passed,  during  which  time  the  bishop 
gave  tlie  inhabitants  more  bad  examples  than  good 
ones.  The  profusion  and  extravagance  of  the  palace 
caused  all  serious  men  to  murmur;  the  more  espe- 
cially, as  every  kind  of  exaction  was  resorted  to  by 
the  bishop  to  support  his  prodigality.  "They  had 
reached  that  pass,"  says  Guibert  de  Nogent,  "  that  if 
perchance  the  King  came  to  the  city  of  Laon  —  who, 
certainly,  as  a  monarch,  had  a  right  to  require  the 
respect  due  to  his  station — he  was  grievously  an- 
noyed by  the  indignities  offered  to  his  retinue.  For 
at  night  and  in  the  morning  when  his  horses  were 
led  to  water,  they  were  forcibly  taken  off  by  the 
bishop's  satellites  and  the  grooms  severely  beaten. 
Of  couTse,  the  common  people  were  treated  with  far 
less  ceremony.  No  laboring  man  could  enter  the 
city  without  incurring  the  risk  of  being  thrown  into 
prison  whence  he  was  obliged  to  ransom  hiniself  ; 
or,  of  being  cited  to  appear  before  the  judge,  and 
condemned,  without  any  offence,  to  punishment." 

We  will  x'elate  a  single  instance  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  exactions  were  effected. 

*'  On  a  Saturday,  the  country  people  came  from  all 
the  adjacent  parts  to  furnish  themselves  with  neces- 


♦  Non  bene  conveniunt,  nee  in  unA  sede  morantur 
Cidaris  et  lancea 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  225 

saries  from  the  market  at  Laon.  The  bishop's  men 
made  the  tour  of  the  city  with  baskets  or  dishes  con- 
taining samples  of  vegetables,  grain,  or  other  com- 
modities and  offered  them,  as  if  they  were  venders,  to 
the  peasants.  After  the  price  was  agreed  upon,  the 
seller  said  to  the  buyer,  '  Follow  to  my  house  and  I 
will  deliver  to  you  what  you  have  purchased.' 
When  the  parties  arrived  at  the  bins  containing  the 
commodities,  the  vender  begged  his  customer  to  ex- 
amine the  quality  of  the  article ;  and  as  he  essayed 
to  do  so,  standing  on  his  tip-toes  and  reaching  his 
head  and  shoulders  into  the  bin,  the  pretended  deal- 
er seized  him  by  the  feet,  pushed  him  suddenly  in, 
and  locked  down  the  cover  ;  he  then  held  him  prison- 
er until  a  ransom  was  paid  for  his  deliverance. 
These,  and  similar  things,  were  constantly  taking 
place  in  the  towns.  The  nobles  and  their  retainers 
publicly  committed  theft  and  defended  their  prac- 
tices with  arms.  There  was  no  security  for  any  man 
belated  in  the  streets ;  for  imprisonment,  robbery,  or 
death  was  certain  to  be  his  fate." 

However,  the  various  expedients  resorted  to  for 
oppressing  the  people  were  at  length  exhausted.  The 
inhabitants  went  to  Rheims  to  purchase  commodities ; 
the  citizens  of  Laon  remained  within  doors  after 
nightfall ;  and  the  bishop  had  no  prisoners  for  whom 
he  could  demand  aransom.  But  being  in  want  of 
money,  he  set  out  for  Rome  to  crave  assistance  from 
the  King  of  England  who  was  then  in  that  city. 

During  his  absence,  the  clergy,  the  arch-deacons 


226  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

and  the  nobles,  iu  order  to  obtain  money  from  the 
people,  offered  to  grant  them  the  power  of  forming 
a  commune  on  payment  of  a  reasonable  sum.  The 
populace,  overjoyed  at  an  opportunity  to  relieve  them- 
selves from  oppression,  eagerly  thrust  the  price  of 
their  liberty  into  the  hands  of  these  avaricious  men  ; 
who,  rendered  tractable  by  the  gold  thus  showered  on 
them,  swore  by  things  most  sacred  that  they  would  faith- 
fully observe  the  conditions  made  with  the  people.* 
The  bargain  was  scarcely  concluded,  when  the  bish- 
op returned  from  Rome,  enriched,  for  the  moment,  by 
the  King  of  England.  On  his  first  learning  what  had 
been  done  in  his  absence,  he  was  much  enraged  and 
refused  to  enter  the  city.  But  when  he  was,  appar- 
ently, the  most  inflexible,  he  suddenly  became  molli- 
fied, made  his  entrance  into  Laon,  and  swore,  not 
only  to  respect  the  rights  of  the  commune  —  which 
was  modelled  after  the  communes  of  St.  Quentin 
and  Noyon  —  but  also  to  induce  the  King  to 
ratify  the  treaty.  "  This  change  in  his  intentions," 
says  Guibert  de  Nogent,  "  was  owing  to  the  large 
sums  of  money  that  were  offered  to  him ;  and  they 
were  sufficient  to  appease  the  tempest  of  his  words. 
Similar  considerations  also  determined  the  course  of 
the  King's  conduct.t 


*  Guibert  de  Nogent. 

+  Rich  gifts  made  by  the  men  of  the  people  also  determined 
the  King  to  confirm  this  treaty  by  oath.  —  Guibertus  ahbas, 
ds  vita  sua. 


THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY.  227 

The  commune  was  therefore  accepted  by  the  peo- 
ple, sworn  to  by  the  bishop,  and  ratified  by  the  King. 

But  the  bishop's  remembrance  of  this  contract 
vanished  with  the  gold  that  purchased  it.  He  dared 
not  venture,  however,  to  lay  any  new  taxes  j  and,  be- 
ing out  of  money,  he  resorted  to  counterfeiting,  to. 
replenish  his  coffers. 

"  The  agents  employed  in  this  transaction,"  says 
the  author  from  whom  we  draw  our  information, 
"  counterfeited  coin  to  such  an  extent  that  a  large 
number  of  people  were  reduced  to  indigence  by  the 
imposition.  Pieces  of  money  were  fabricated  from 
villainous  brass,  which,  through  the  wicked  ingenuity 
of  the  artisans,  appeared  for  a  time  more  brilliant 
than  silver  ;  so  that — alas  !  —  the  ignorant  were  de- 
ceived, and  exchanged  for  this  money,  this  dross  of 
the  vilest  metal,  all  their  valuable  possessions." 

As  soon  as  the  people  discovered  this  new  impo- 
sition, they  refused  to  receive  silver  money  without 
first  rubbing  its  edge  on  a  stone  ;  the  bishop  was 
therefore  obliged  to  adopt  some  new  expedient  for 
filling  his  treasury.  The  most  summary  method 
seemed  to  be,  to  repudiate  the  treaty  and  reduce 
the  inhabitants  to  their  former  condition  of  serfs, 
taxable  at  pleasure.  For  this  purpose,  he  called 
together  a  council,  in  which  it  was  determined  that 
the  King  should  be  induced  to  visit  Laon  during 
the  season  of  Lent,  and  that,  on  the  eve  of  Good- 
Friday,  advantage  should  be  taken  of  his  presence  to 
formally  abolish  the  treaty. 


228  THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  King  arrived  at  the  appointed  time.  The 
inhabitants,  suspecting  that  his  visit  was  fraught  with 
mischief  to  themselves,  offered  him  four  hundred 
livres  of  silver  if  he  would  favor  their  cause.  But 
the  bishop  and  nobles  promised  to  give  him  seven 
hundred  livres  to  sustain  them  in  cancelling  the 
treaty.  Louis  decided  in  favor  of  the  highest  bid- 
der,* and,  on  the  specified  day,  repaired  to  the  Hotel 
de  Ville,  where  the  people  awaited  him.  The  bishop, 
in  virtue  of  his  spiritual  authority,  absolved  the 
King  from  his  oath,  and  afterward  absolved  himself; 
they  then  both  declared  to  the  citizens  that  the 
Commune  of  Laon  was  abolished.  The  consterna- 
tion of  the  people  was  so  great  that  they  uttered  no 
cry  of  vengeance.  But  the  King,  conscious  that  he 
had  violated  all  rights,  human  and  divine,  dared  not 
sleep  that  night  elsewhere  than  in  the  bishop's  pal- 
ace ;  and  the  next  morning,  at  day-break,  he  left  the 
city  with  his  suite  in  such  haste  that  he  was  forced 
to  take  the  bishop's  promise  of  payment  in  lieu  of 
the  seven  hundred  livres  of  silver. 

The    citizens,    though   at   first    astounded,    were 


*  The  cupidity  of  this  King  made  him  favor  those  who  made 
the  most  liberal  offers.  With  his  free  consent,  and  against 
what  was  due  to  God,  all  his  oaths,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
bishop  and  nobles,  were  recklessly  violated  and  declared  void, 
without  respect  to  honor  and  to  the  Holy  days. —  Vie  de  Gui- 
bert  de  Nogerd,  liv.  3. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  229 

nevertheless  filled  with  rage.  The  shops,  the  inns, 
and  the  warehousea  were  closed ;  the  public  men 
refused  to  discharge  their  official  functions ;  and  the 
city  bore  that  sad  and  desolate  aspect  which  we,  in 
our  own  day,  have  seen  cities  assume  in  the  sombre 
hours  that  precede  the  outbreak  of  a  popular  revo- 
lution. 

The  external  appearance  of  things  was  rendered 
still  more  solemn  by  the  day  on  which  these  occur- 
rences took  place.  For  it  was  on  Good-Friday  that 
the  "  minds  of  these  men,  who  were  now  mortal 
enemies,  prepared  themselves,  by  perjury  on  the 
one  hand  and  homicide  on  the  other,  to  receive  the 
body  and  blood  of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."* 

Dui'ing  the  day,  bands  of  citizens  (yet  unarmed) 
moved  through  the  streets,  speaking  in  a  low  tone ; 
gathering  in  the  public  squares ;  and  dispersing  at 
every  sound  that  seemed  to  intimate  the  approach 
of  armed  troops,  to  form  anew  at  some  other  point. 
It  is  said,  that  forty  men  bound  themselves  by  a  terri- 
ble oath — the  penalty  of  breaking  which  was  to  be 
the  loss  of  all  their  hope  of  eternal  salvation — to 
massacre  the  bishop  and  such  of  his  followers  as  fell 
into  their  power.  The  bishop  had  received  some 
intimation  of  the  conspiracy,  and  dared  not  go  to 
matins. 


*  GuiBERTUS  abbas,  de  vitd  sitd. 
20 


230  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  next  clay,  however,  being   Easter-Even,  he 
was  obhged  to  join  in  the  procession.     He  ordered 
his  servants  and  a  few  soldiers  to  conceal  weapons 
under   their    dress    and    follow   close    behind    him. 
The  bishop  now  found  in  his  suite,  and  separated  from 
him  only  by  the  few  servitors  on  whom  he  could  rely, 
the  whole  population   whom  he  had  just  betrayed. 
Every  face  revealed  disapprobation,  and  every  ves- 
ture  covered   a   heait   filled     with    mortal     hatred 
toward  himself.     Soon  after,  a   confusion  arose,  as 
will  always  be  the  case  in  a  crowd,  and  immediately 
one  of  the  conspirators,  supposing  that  the  time  for 
action  had  arrived,  came  out  from  a  low  and  gloomy 
arch-way  exclaiming  in  a  loud  voice,  "  Commune  ! 
Commune  !"  The  cries,  however,  died  away  without 
echo ;  for  these  men,  panting  for  revenge,  yet  reli- 
gious even  in  their  vengeance,  would  not  accomplish 
it  at  that  moment  when  the  bishop  was  fulfilling  the 
sacred  functions  of  his  office.    The  guilty  man,  there- 
fore, returned  unharmed  to  his  palace  with  his  pride 
augmented  in  proportion  to  his  success.     The  people, 
at  this  stage  of  the  insurrection,  might  be  compared 
to   a  yoking  tamed  lion,  that  has  not  as  yet  tasted 
blood,    and   is   regarded    as   harmless    because    its 
strength  and  fury  have  never  been  called  into  action.^ 
The  bishop  now  hoped  that  the  danger  was  past ; 
but  he  stationed  guards,  composed  of  peasants  from 
his  own  domains,  around  his  palace  as  well  as  around 
the  church  to  prevent  disturbances. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  231 

Meantime,  the  city  became  more  and  more  agita- 
ted. The  citizens  whoventured  into  the  streets,  bore 
arms,  either  a  sword  or  an  axe. 

The  more  timid  yet  hesitated  to  make  open  de- 
monstrations, while  the  more  hardy  encouraged  the 
insurgents  by  gestures  from  the  windows  of  the 
houses,  and,  soon  arming  themselves,  issued  into  the 
streets.  They  hastened  on  to  join  their  comrades, 
and  slackened  their  pace  only  when  some  lord 
crossed  their  path  on  his  way  to  the  palace,  whom 
they  eyed  with  menacing  looks.  The  inhabitants, 
uniting  in  troops,  were  astonished  to  find  themselves 
so  strong  in  numbers,  and  they  received  with  yells  of 
savage  laughter  the  reinforcements  that  were  con- 
tinually arriving. 

The  bishop  was  in  his  palace  with  the  arch-deacon 
Gauthier,  estimating  the  sums  to  be  extorted  from 
the  citizens  :  for,  with  a  bitter  derision,  he  deter- 
mined that  each  man  should  pay  him  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  commune  the  same  amount  as  he  had  for- 
merly paid  for  its  establishment.  From  time  to 
time  a  i-umbling  noise,  like  distant  thunder,  reached 
the  ears  of  these  perjured  men;  for  an  instant,  they 
would  raise  their  heads  and  listen,  unconscious  of  the 
portent  of  the  sound,  and  then  resume  the  apportion- 
ment of  the  tax.  Suddenly,  a  tremendous  tumult  burst 
out  under  the  very  walls  of  the  palace.  The  shouts 
"  Commune  !  Commune  !"  reached  the  ears  of  the 
bishop,   who  instantly  opened   a  window  and  per- 


232  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

ceived  all  the  adjacent  streets  filled  with  the  anned 
populace,  brandishing  pick-a«es,  swords,  Lows  and 
hatchets.  The  insurgents  recognised  him  at  once 
and  saluted  him  with  curses  and  a  shower  of  arrows. 
He  closed  the  window,  and,  turning  round,  saw  before 
him  one  of  his  nobles,  named  Adon,  who  had  come 
to  apprize  him  that  the  revolt  was  general  through 
the  city ;  and  that  two  of  the  lords  (Guinimar ;  and 
Regnier,  cousin  of  the  Abbe  Guibert,  the  historian 
of  the  events  we  are  recording)  were  already  slain. 
The  prelate,  who  was  a  courageous  man  and  habitua- 
ted to  arms,  now  ordered  the  necessary  preparations 
to  be  made ;  armed  himself,  and  repaired  to  the 
walls. 

The  combat  had  already  commenced.  On  the  side 
where  he  stationed  himself,  the  assailants  were  led 
by  Teudegaud,  a  serf  of  the  church  of  St.  Vincent, 
whom  the  bishop  had  frequently  jeered  for  his  ugli- 
ness, and  to  whom  he  habitually  applied  the  nick-name 
of  Isengrin  —  a  word  at  that  time  signifying,  in  the 
popular  acceptation,  a  wolf.  The  mob  shouted,  like 
maniacs,  "  Commune  !  Commune  !"  and  placed  lad- 
ders against  the  walls,  which  they  scaled,  with  Isengrin 
at  their  head,  despite  the  showers  of  stones  cast  on 
them  by  the  defenders  of  the  palace.  The  prelate, 
feeling  that  success  must  attend  courage  so  extraor- 
dinary in  such  persons,  and  that  a  more  desperate 
assault  was  in  preparation,  which  he  could  not  hope  to 
resist,  retreated  precij^itately  in  order  to  hide  himself 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  233 

in  the  cellar  of  the  church.  On  his  way  thither,  he 
saw  that  the  gate  of  the  palace  had  been  forced,  not- 
withstanding the  intrepidity  of  Adon,  to  whom  this 
post  had  been  confided.  This  lord  defended  himself 
most  vigorovisly,  and  he  had  already  slain  three  of  his 
assailants  with  his  own  hand.  At  length,  however, 
he  mounted  a  table  that  chanced  to  be  in  the  court; 
"  ^nd  as,"  says  Guibert  de  Nogent,  "  besides  the 
wounds  that  covered  his  body,  he  was  hurt  in  both 
knees,  he  fell  upon  them  and,  for  a  long  time,  con- 
tinued thus  to  combat,  dealing  rude  blows  to  those 
who  held  him  (so  to  speak)  besieged ;  until,  at  last, 
overwhelmed  with  fatigue,  he  sank  exhausted  and 
was  pierced  through  by  an  arrow.  His  corse  was 
soon  afterward  consumed  in  the  conflagration  of  the 
palace.  On  the  death  of  Adon,  all  resistance  ceased. 
The  followers  of  Isengrin,  who  had  scaled  the  walls, 
joined  the  men  who  had  forced  the  gate,  and  both 
bands  united  in  the  search  for  the  prelate  whom,  with 
loud  cries,  they  called  not  bis/iop  hut  wretch." 

Nearly  an  hour  was  consumed  in  a  fniitless  search, 
and  the  disappointment  added  greatly  to  their  rage  ; 
but  they  at  length  seized  ou  a  valet  who,  alarmed 
by  their  threats,  pointed  toward  the  cellar.  They 
hastened  thither,  and  found  it  filled  with  casks.  All  of 
these  which,  by  the  sound,  proved  to  be  emptied  of 
wine,  they  pierced  with  their  swords  ;  and  at  length 
a  shrill  cry  from  the  bishop  announced  that  he  was 
wounded  and  discovered.  The  cask  was  opened  and 
20* 


234  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

a  man  taken  from  it  habited  like  a  servant,  so  that, 
for  a  moment,  the  people  supposed  they  had  been 
deceived.  "  Who  are  you  1"  demanded  Isengrin. 
"  A  wretched  prisoner,"  replied  the  bishop  ;  and  the 
answer  was  responded  to  with  a  shout,  for  all  recogni- 
sed the  prelate's  voice.  Had  he  been  arrayed  in  his 
sacerdotal  robes,  their  sacred  character  might  have 
saved  him  from  the  rage  of  the  multitude;  but,  in  the 
disguise  of  a  servant,  he  was  nothing  but  a  man,  a 
perjured  extortioner  and  a  debauchee.  He  was 
therefoi'e  dragged,  with  execrations  and  blows,  to  the 
priest's  cloister. 

The  bishop  readily  divined  that  this  was  to  be  the 
place  of  his  execution.  He  endeavored  in  every 
way  to  propitiate  the  fury  of  the  people.  He  prom- 
ised them  large  sums  of  money  for  his  ransom  ;  he 
offered  to  quit  Laon  and  bind  himself  by  the  most 
solemn  oatlis  never  to  return ;  and,  finally,  he  pros- 
trated himself  on  his  knees  before  those  men,  whom, 
ten  years  before,  he  had  beheld  kneeling  to  him. . 
While  he  was  in  this  position,  Bernard  de  Bruyeres 
smote  him  on  the  head  with  an  axe.  As  the  blow 
was  not  instantly  fatal,  his  executioners  broke  the 
bones  of  his  logs  in  several  places  and  pierced  him 
slowly  with  a  hundred  wounds.  Jsengrin,  seeing  the 
pastoral  ring  on  his  hand,  and  not  being  able  to  un- 
clench his  dying  grasp,  cut  off  the  finger  that  bore  it, 
and  thus  obtained  the  jewel.  Finally,  the  body  was 
disrobed  and   thrown  out   in   the  street,   where    it 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  235 

remained  during  the  day  exposed  to  the  gaze,  the 
raillery,  and  the  curses  of  the  inhabitants.* 

Thus  fell  the  first  victim  of  the  first  popular  revo- 
lution. It  was  a  revolution  of  a  town,  yet  it  may  be 
likened  to  a  revolution  of  a  kingdom  :  for  the  inter- 
ests and  principles  are  the  same,  however  large  or 
small  may  be  the  circle  they  embrace. 

At  first,  occurs  the  necessity  of  amelioration  in  the 
condition  of  the  serfs  of  a  city  ;  a  necessity  which  is 
expressed  by  a  humble  petition  for  enfranchisement  ; 

Then  follows  the  treaty,  sworn  to  by  master  and 
serfs ; 

Then,  forgetfulness  of  this  oath,  and  violation  of  its 
provisions,  by  the  master ; 

Then,  popular  reaction,  attended  by  all  the  demo- 
cratic ci'imes  that  follow  in  its  train  : 

Such  was  a  revolution  of  the  twelfth  century. 

Six  hundred  years  later,  an  entire  nation  experi- 
enced the  same  necessity  of  amelioration  :  she  called 
for  liberty  ;  not  by  the  words  of  a  few  citizens,  but 
by  the  voice  of  a  whole  people. 

This  people  humbly  claimed  this  liberty  through 
their  representatives.  The  claim  was  scoffed  at  by  the 
higher  orders  of  the  nation  ;  and  the  representatives 


*  OGod!  who  can  recount  the  many  infamous  jeers  that  the 
passers-by  showered  on  the  prostrate  corse;  or  with  what 
quantity  of   stones  and  mud    they  covered  it  [ — ^Guibert  de 

I^OGENT. 


236  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

were  ejected  from  the  hall  of  their  deliberations  ;  but 
they  united  again  at  the  Jeu  de  Paume. 

The  foundation  of  the  National  Assembly  fol- 
lowed ; 

Then,  atreaty  was  prepared,  establishing  the  rights, 
of  the  people  and  limiting  the  power  of  royalty  ; 

Then,  the  free  acceptance  of  this  treaty  by  Louis 
XVL; 

Then,  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  constitution  of 
'91; 

Next,  the  forgetfulness  of  the  oath  and  the  violation 
of  the  promise  on  the  part  of  the  King ;  though  the 
oath  is  faithfully  observed  by  the  people ; 

And,  finally,  the  popular  reaction,  which  erected 
the  guillotine  in  the  Place-de-la-Revolution,  Janu- 
ary 21st,  1793 ;  where  Louis,  the  perjured  traitor, 
perished.. 

Such  was  a  revolution  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  only  difference  that  we  perceive  in  reviewing 
the  progress  of  Democracy  during  these  two  revolu- 
tions is,  that  in  the  latter  it  advances  with  larger 
strides.  It  is  no  longer  a  city,  but  a  nation,  that 
rises ;  it  is  no  longer  a  bishop,  assassinated  by  the 
bourgeois;  but  a  King,  condemned  by  an  entire  peo- 
ple and  beheaded  by  their  executioner. 

It  was  not  until  sixteen  years  after  the  murder  of 
Bishop  Gaudry,  that  is,  in  1128,  that  the  citizens  of 
Laon  obtained  —  not  the  ratification  of  their  com- 
mune, for  the  name  of  commune  was  erased  from 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  237 

the  new  treaty  as  horrible  and  execrable,  but  —  an 
institution  of  peace*  During  the  interval,  royalty 
had  taken  most  bloody  revenge  on  the  insurgents. 
All  citizens  w^homsoever,  found  with  arms  in  their 
hands,  were  hung  without  ransom  ;  and  their  bodies, 
left  uninterred,  became  the  prey  of  dogs  and  birds.t 

By  this  treaty  of  peace,  the  municipal  jurisdiction 
and  the  rates  of  taxes  were  established  on  the  basis  of 
the  former  charter  ;  the  remission  of  ancient  forfeit- 
ures was  also  stipulated  for ;  and  permission  was 
granted  to  those  who  had  been  banished  to  return  to 
the  city,  saving  and  excepting  thirteen  citizens,  viz. : 
Foulques,  son  of  Bomard ;  Raoul  de  Cabricion ; 
Ancelle,  son-in-law  of  Lebert ;  Haymon,  vassal  of 
Leberd ;  Payen  Seille ;  Robert;  Remy  But; 
Maynard  Dray;  Raimbault  de  Soissons ;  Paque 
Osteloup;  Ancelle  Quatreraains ;  Raoul  Gastines; 
and  Jean  de  Molrain|. 

These  are  the  obscure  names  of  the  first  victims  of 
the  popular  cause,  the  outlawed  of  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, who  stand  at  the  head  of  that  long  list  of  pro- 
scriptions, that  register  of  a  thousand  pages,  the  last 


*  Institutio  pacis, 

t  Milvorum,  corvorum  et  vuUurum  rcipacitati  pastum  genera- 
lem  exliibens,  et  patibulo  afRgi  preecipiens.  —  Sugerius,  de  vita 
Ludovici  Grossi  regis. 

t  Collection  of  the  ordinances  of  the  Kings  of  France,  vol, 
XI.,  page  186. 


238  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

of  which,  —  written  so  recently  that  the  ink  is 
scarcely  dry,  ■ —  terminates  with  Prospert  and  Jean- 
ne. The  interval  between  the  two  events  —  the 
devotion  and  punishment  of  the  twelve  men  of  Laon, 
and  of  the  two  that  finish  the  list  of  proscription  — 
is  no  less  than  seven  centuries  ;  yet  it  was  the  same 
principle  that  guided,  and  the  same  power  that  put 
down,  the  several  victims.  All  sovereigns  place  the 
same  interpretation  on  the  word  Liberty  ;  and  it  is  ever 
true  that  "Ze  7oi  ne  Icichc  que  quand  lepeuple  arrache" 
—  the  King  never  concedes  until  the  people  coerce. 

Let  us  return  to  Louis-le-Gros;  who  conquered 
the  nobles  and  was  vanquished  by  the  communes. 
He  had  now  attained  his  fifty-ninth  year,  and  for  a 
length  of  time  had  suffered  from  the  extreme  corpu- 
lence to  which  he  owed  his  surname.  He  was  ex- 
hausted by  his  various  expeditions,  though  still  young 
in  heart,  firm  in  purpose,  and  ardent  in  the  prosecu- 
tion of  his  will ;  but  he  was  forced  to  pause,  groaning 
under  his  impotence,  and  frequently  repeating  the 
words  "  Alas  !  Alas  !  how  wretched  is  man  !  the 
wisdom  to  know  and  the  power  to  execute  are  sel- 
dom permitted  to  exist  together  !" 

When  he  perceived  that  his  end  was  approaching, 
he  demanded  to  receive  the  sacrament  and  to  con- 
fess himself  publicly.  The  doors  of  his  apartment 
were  therefore  thrown  open ;  and  when  a  large 
concourse  of  people  had  assembled,  he  divested 
himself  of  the  government  in  favor  of  his  son  Louis ; 


THE    FRENCH    MONAnCHY.  239 

confessed  that  he  had  ruled  the  nation  unwisely  ;* 
placed  the  royal  signet  on  his  son's  finger;  and 
required  him  to  promise,  under  oath,  that  he  would 
protect  the  Church  of  Gtod,  the  poor  and  the 
orphans ;  that  he  would  respect  the  rights  of  all, 
and  would  hold  no  one  a  prisoner  in  his  court. 
Louis  then,  in  an  audible  voice,  made  the  following 
profession  of  his  religious  faith. 

"  I,  Louis,  a  wretched  sinner,  do  profess  one  only 
and  true  God  ;  the  Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  ;  I  confess  but  one  person  in  this  Holy 
Trinity,  the  only  Son,  consubstantial  and  co-eternal 
with  God,  his  Father,  who  was  incarnate  in  the 
womb  of  the  most  holy  Virgin  Mary  ;  who  suffered, 
is  dead,  and  was  buried  ;  who  arose  the  third  day ; 
ascended  into  heaven,  where  he  is  seated  at  the  right 
hand  of  God  the  Fathcr  ;  and  who  shall  come  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  on  the  day  of  the  great 
and  last  judgment.  I  believe  that  the  Eucharist  of 
his  most  sacred  body  is  the  same  that  he  took  in  the 
womb  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  which  he  gave  to  his 
disciples  that  they  might  remain  united  and  joined  in 
him.  I  believe  firmly,  and  1  confess  it  with  my 
mouth  and  heart,  that  this  wine  is  the  self-same  holy 
blood  which  flowed  from  his  side  when  he  hung  upon 
the  Cross.  And  1  desire  that  this  viaticum,  the  most 
efficacious  of  all  aid,  may  strengthen  me  in  the  hour 


♦  SuGER,  Life  of  Louis-le-Gros. 


240  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY, 

of  death ;  and,  by  its  invincible  protection,  defend 
me  against  all  the  powers  of  Hell." 

A  few  days  after  this  ceremony,  he  requested  his 
attendants  to  spread  a  carpet  on  the  floor  and  strew 
it  with  ashes  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  He  was  then 
placed  on  it,  and,  in  two  hours,  he  expired,  August 
1st,  1137,  having  attained  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age 
and  the  thirtieth  of  his  I'eign.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Louis-le-Jeune,  {the  Young)  Louis  VH. 

Just  pi-evious  to  the  death  of  Louis,  some  ambas- 
sadors arrived  at  his  court  with  the  intelligence  that 
William  X.,  Duke  of  Aquitania,  having  died  during 
a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St.  James,  had  be- 
queathed to  him,  as  his  King  and  lord  suzerain,  his 
daughter  Eleonora,  who  was  unmarried,  together 
with  the  duchies  of  Aquitania  and  Guienne.  Louis 
joyfully  accepted  the  legacy  and  insisted  that  his  son 
should  espouse  the  Avealthy  orphan.  Louis-le-Jeune 
immediately  departed  to  fulfil  his  father's  wishes,  and 
was  on  his  road  to  Bordeaux  when  the  old  King  ex- 
pired. He  did  not,  however,  receive  the  news  of 
the  event  until  he  arrived  at  Poictiers ;  nor,  when 
received,  did  he  suffer  it  to  retard  his  maniage, 
which  was  celebrated  in  presence  of  all  the  lords  of 
Gascony,  Poictiers  and  Saintonge. 

After  his  marriagfe,  the  new  King  returned  in 
haste  from  Bordeaux  to  Orleans,  where  he  learned 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  city  were  endeavor- 
ing to  establish  a  commune.     "Faithful  to  his  father's 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  241 

policy,  he  boldly  repressed,"  says  the  unknown 
author  of  his  life,*  "  these  conspiracies,  not  without 
disaster  to  certain  men." 

Some  years  subsequent  to  this,  Louis  received  in- 
telligence that  the  Saracens  had  re-captured  from  the 
Crusaders  the  town  of  Edessa.t  He  convoked  a 
large  assembly  at  Vezelay,  where  a  new  Crusade 
was  promptly  determined  on.  His  queen  and  him- 
self received  the  Cross  from  the  hands  of  St.  Bernard, 
and  they  "  departed  pompously,  surrounded  by  a 
royal  retinue,  the  week  after  Pentecost,  in  the 
year  11-47."| 

Before  his  departure,  the  King  confided  the  gov- 
ernment to  Suger,  v/ho  strenuously  opposed  this  Cru- 
sade, and  who,  during  its  continuance,  strove  con- 
stantly to  recall  Louis  to  France,  where  he  conceiv- 
ed his  presence  to  be  much  more  important  than  at 
Jerusalem.  His  entreaties  to  this  effect  became  the 
more  urgent  when  Robert  de  Dreux,  the  King's  broth- 
er, abandoned  the  Crusade  and  returned  to  France  : 
for,  taking  advantage  of  the  King's  absence,  Robert, 
with  the  Eissistance  of  several  prelates   and   a  large 


*  The  author  of  the  Life  of  Louis-le-Jeune  is  entirely  un- 
known. For  a  long  time,  the  work  was  erroneously  attributed 
to  Suger:  but  this  historical  fragment  extends  to  the  year  1165, 
whereas  Suger  died  January  12th,  1151. 

t  December  24th,  1144. 

*  Life  of  Louis-le-Jeune. 

21 


242  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

popular  party,*  attempted  to  usurp  the  throne.  The 
firmness  and  prudence  of  Suger,  however,  quelled 
the  insurrection. 

On  this  occasion,  he  WTOte  the  following  letter  to 
the  King  : 

"  The  disturbers  of  the  public  tranquillity  have 
returned,  while  you,  who  are  bound  to  defend  your 
subjects,  remain  like  a  captive  in  a  foreign  land.  Of 
what  are  you  thinking,  Sire,  that  you  thus  leave  the 
flock  confided  to  your  care  to  the  mercy  of  wolves  1 
How  can  you  conceal  from  yourself  the  perils  with 
which  the  despoilers,  who  are  in  advance  of  you, 
threaten  your  dominions  1  You  are  no  longer 
excusable  for  keeping  yourself  from  us.  Everything 
here  claims  your  presence.  We  supplicate  your  high- 
ness ;  we  entreat  your  pity,  we  appeal  to  the  good- 
ness of  your  heart,  we  conjure  you  by  the  faith  which 
reciprocally  binds  the  prince  and  his  subjects,  not  to 
prolong  your  journey  in  Syria,  beyond  the  festival  of 
Easter,  least  a  further  delay  render  you  guilty,  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  of  breaking  the  vow  you  made  on 
receiving  the  crown.  You  will  have  reason,  I  think,  to 
be  satisfied  with  our  conduct.  We  have  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  Knight  Temjjlarst  the  money  we  have 
resolved  to  send  you ;  moreover  we  have  reimbursed 
to   the    Count   de  Vermandois   the  three  thousand 


♦Life  of  Suger;  by  William  Monk,  of  St.  Denis, 
t  The  order  of  the  Temple  was  founded    by  Louis-le-Gros 
in  1118. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  243 

livres  that  he  lent  us  for  your  service.  Your  people 
enjoy  at  the  present  a  happy  peace.  We  reserve  for 
your  return  an  account  of  the  revenues  of  the  fiefs 
tributary  to  you,  and  of  the  taxes  and  provisions  for 
your  household  which  w^e  levy  on  your  domains. 
You  will  find  your  mansions  and  your  palaces  in 
good  condition  from  the  care  that  we  have  taken  to 
keep  them  in  repair.  I  am  now  in  the  decline  of  life, 
but  T  can  freely  say  that  the  occupations  which  I  have 
undertaken  for  the  love  of  God  and  from  attachment 
to  your  person,  have  hastened  on  my  old  age.  With 
respect  to  the  queen,  your  wife,  I  am  of  the  opinion 
that  it  is  advisable  to  disguise  the  discontent  she 
causes  you  until  you  return  to  your  kingdom,  when 
you  can  quietly  deliberate  on  that  and  other  sub- 
jects."* 

We  have  presented  this  letter  in  detail,  because 
such  details  illustrate  history.  Besides,  the  last  sen- 
tence brings  us  to  an  event  that  had  an  important 
bearing  on  the  destinies  of  the  nation :  viz.,  the 
divorce  of  Louis-le-Jeune  and  Eleonoraof  Aquitania. 

During  the  sojourn  of  the  royal  pair  in  Palestine, 
an  intimacy  between  the  queen  and  a  young  Saracen 
had  become  a  subject  of  scandal  to  the  Crusaders. 
They  conceived  that  her  adulterous  conversation 
with  an  enemy  of  the  Church  was  an  inauspicious 
preparation  for  the  success  which  they  besought  God 

*  GuizoT  ;  Notice  svr  Siiger. 


244  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

to  grant  to  their  arms.  Upon  the  King's  return  to 
France,  therefore,  and  on  the  birth  of  a  daughter  of 
whose  paternity  he  was  doubtful,  he  proclaimed  that 
the  degree  of  consanguinity  between  himself  and  his 
wife  should  have  been  a  bar  to  their  union  and  was 
a  proper  ground  for  their  divorce  ;  and  their  sej^ara- 
tion  took  place,  accordingly,  on  the  18th  of  March, 
1152.* 

After  repudiating  Eleonora,  the  King  restored  to 
her  Guienne  and  Poitou,  although  Suger  strongly 
opposed  the  restitution;  and,  certainly,  the  act  was 
more  worthy  of  an  honest  man  than  of  a  politic 
sovereign.  No  sooner  had  Eleonora  obtained  pos- 
session of  these  two  duchies,  than  she  married 
Henry,  count  of  Anjou  and  Duke  of  Normandy, 
bringing  to  him  these  domains  as  her  marriage-por- 
tion.    This  Count,  therefore,  ascending  the  throne 


*  Therefore,  Hugh,  archbishop  of  Sens,  summoned  them  both, 
viz.,  King  Louis  and  Queen  Eleonora,  to  his  presence  atBeau- 
gency ;  whither,  according  to  his  injunction,  they  repaired  on  the 
Friday  preceding  Pahn- Sunday.  There  were  also  assembled 
Samson,  bishop  of  Rheims ;  Hugh,  bishop  of  Rouen ;  the  arch- 
bishop of  Bordeaux,  whose  name  I  know  not;  **  some  of  their 
suffragans ;  and  a  great  number  of  lords  and  barons  of  the  king- 
dom of  France.  The  relatives  of  the  King  now  pronounced  the 
oath,  as  they  had  promised  to  do,  that  there  existed  a  near  re- 
lationship between  the  king  and  queen ;  and  their  matrimonial 
contract  was  therefore  dissolved.— ir/e  of  LovAs-le-Jewne. 

**  GeofTroy. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  245 

under  the  title  of  Henry  II.,  found  himself  King  of 
England  ;  Duke  of  Normandy,  Brittany,  and  Aqui- 
tania;  and  Count  of  Anjou,  Poitou,  Touraine,  and 
Maine.  Consequently,  the  result  of  this  divorce 
was  the  introduction  and  establishment  of  a  power- 
ful foe  in  the  very  heart  of  the  kingdom  ;  and  in 
future,  the  King  of  England  eould  bring  Frenchmen 
into  the  field  to  wage  war  against  France. 

Louis  now  espoused  Constance,  daughter  of  the 
King  of  Spain ;  but  she  died  in  giving  birth  to  a 
daughter  :  *  and  the  King,  fearing  that  France  might 
cease  to  be  governed  by  a  prince  of  his  own  blood, 
contracted  a  third  marriage  with  Adele,  daughter  of 
Thibaut,  Count  de  Blois,  who  crowned  all  his  hopes 
by  bearing  him  a  son  on  the  22d  of  August,  1 165. 

This  son  was  Philip  Augustus. t 


♦  In  IIGO. 

t  Philip  was  surnamed  Augustus  by  Rigord,  or  Rigot. 
This  man  was  a  Goth  by  birth  as  he  himself  says,  that  is  to 
say,  born  in  Languedoc**  where  at  first  he  followed  the  profes- 
sion of  medicine  ;  but  he  afterward  abandoned  this  employment 
and  secluded  himself  in  the  Abbey  of  St.  Denis,  where  he 
wrote  the  life  of  the  King.  He  tlms  explains  what  signification 
he  attaches  to  the  name,  Augustus  ;  by  which  Philip  is  still 
known,  although  Guillaume Lebreton—  who  continued  Rigord's 

♦*  This  name  of  Languedoc  was  not  adopted  until  toward 
the  commencement  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Tliis  part  of 
France  was  previously  called  Gothia,  from  the  government  of 
the  West-Goths,  which  continued  from  408  to  7l2;  at  which 
latter  period  it  was  overthrown  by  the  invasion  of  the  Arabs. 
21* 


246  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  narration  of  the  unknown  historian  of  Louis 
VII.  here  terminates,  although  it  was  not  until  the 
year  1181  that  this  monarch  expired,  "  leaving," 
says  Jean  de  Serre,  "  the  leaven  of  a  great  woe  to 
his  posterity." 

In  addition  to  the  events  that  we  have  recorded, 
there  were  many  others  of  moment  which  distin- 
guish the  period  embraced  by  the  reign  of  Louis- 
le-Jeune.  Among  these,  were  the  condemnation,  by 
the  council  of  Soissons,  of  the  doctrines  of  Abelard ; 
the  recovery  of  the  Justinian  Code,  found  in  Italy 
and  brought  to  France,  where  it  became  the  estab- 
lished law ;  the  rise  of  the  Papal  and  Imperial  fac- 
tions, known  by  the  names  of  Guelph  and  Ghibelline; 
the  prohibition  of  duelling  for  a  debt  less  in  amount 
than  five  sous ;  the  foundation  of  the  University  of 
Paris ;  the  establishment  of  the  School  of  Medicine  at 
Montpellier;  and,  finally,  the   controversy,  relating 

history  •—  always  styles  him  Philip  the  Magnanimous.  "  But 
perhaps  you  will  be  amazed  at  the  title  of  Augustus,  which  I 
give  to  the  King  at  the  commencement  of  this  work.  My  reason 
for  so  doing  is  this.  It  has  been  customary  for  writers  to  be- 
stow the  name  Augustus  (from  the  verb  augco,  auges,)  on  the 
Csesars  who  added  to  the  dominions  of  the  empire.  Philip, 
therefore,  is  entitled  to  the  name,  for  he  enlarged  the  boundaries 
of  the  kingdom  by  the  addition  of  Vermandois  (which  his 
predecessors  for  a  length  of  time  had  lost)  and  also  many  other 
territories  that  greatly  augmented  the  royal  revenue.  Further- 
more, he  was  born  in  the  month  consecrated  to  Augustus 
(August)  —  that  is,  when  the  granaries  and  wine-presses  over- 
flow with  temporal  blessings." 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  247 

to  ecclesiastical  immunities,  between  Henry  II.  and 
Thomas,  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  which  ended  in 
the  assassination  of  the  prelate. 

Louis  caused  his  son  to  be  anointed  and  crowned 
during  his  own  life ;  and  the  ceremony  was  per- 
formed at  PJieims  on  All  Saints'  day  in  the  year 
1180,  the  prince  being  then  fifteen  years  of  age. 
Henry  II.,  King  of  England,  was  present,  and 
"humbly  held  one  side  of  the  crown  on  the  head  of 
the  young  King  of  France,  in  token  of  the  submission 
that  he  owed  him." 

"  In  the  same  year,"  says  his  historian,  "  inflamed 
with  holy  zeal,  he  caused  the  Jews,  on  the  16th  of 
March,  to  be  seized  in  their  synagogues  throughout 
France  and  despoiled  of  their  gold,  their  silver,  and 
their  garments,  as  they  themselves  had  despoiled  the 
Eg}'ptians  previous  to  their  Exodus.  But  this  was 
only  a  prelude  to  their  banishment  which,  thanks  be 
to  God,  soon  followed  this  first  warning." 

In  the  month  of  April,  1182,  Philip  Augustus 
issued  an  edict  of  banishment  against  the  Jews  — 
granting  them,  however,  a  suspension  of  the  execu- 
tion of  the  sentence  until  Mid-Summer,  during  which 
interim  they  were  permitted  to  sell  moveables.  But 
of  tbsir  domains  —  "such  as  houses,  fields,  vine- 
yards, presses,  and  other  immoveables,  the  King 
reserved  the  ownership  to  himself  and  his  successors 
upon  the  throne  of  France."  * 

*  RiGORD.     Life  of  Philip  Augustus. 


248  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

In  1187,  a  dispute  between  Philip  and  Henry,  led 
to  a  war  between  the  two  countries.  At  the  conse- 
cration of  the  King  of  France,  Henry  had,  by 
holding  the  crown  on  Philip's  head,  made  a  formal 
acknowledgment  of  ~  vassalage ;  but  this  proved  to 
have  been  a  vain  ceremony ;  for  Philip  had  subse- 
quently been  unable  to  obtain  from  the  young  Count 
of  Poictiers  —  Richard,*  son  of  Henry — that  ho- 
mage which  he,  the  Count,  owed  him  for  his  pro- 
vince. Besides,  Philip  claimed  several  castles  from 
Henry ;  and  particularly  that  of  Gisors,  which  his 
sister  Margaret  had  received  as  her  marriage  portion 
on  espousing  Henry's  eldest  son,  Henry,  and  which, 
on  the  death  of,  the  latter  without  issue,  should  of 
right  have  reverted  to  France. 

But  Philip,  finding  his  claims  for  homage  and 
restitution  all  resisted,  raised  a  numerous  army  in 
Berry,  marched  suddenly  into  Aquitania  and  laid 
siege  to  Chateauroux. 

He  had  scarcely  made  this  demonstration,  how- 
ever, when  envoys  arrived  at  the  court  of  France  to 
"  announce  with  groans  and  tears  that,  in  punishment 
of  the  sins  of  Christendom,  Saladin,t  King  of  Egypt 
and  Syria,  had  invaded  the  possessions  of  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  East ;  that  he  had  without  pity  massa- 
cred thousands ;   and  that,  pursuing  his   iniquitous 


*  Afterward  known  as  Richard  Coeur-de-Lion. 
t  Salah-Eddin. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  249 

course,  he  had,  in  a  short  time,  subjugated  the  Holy 
City,  Jerusalem,  and  all  the  j^romised  land.  Tyre> 
Tripoli,  Antioch,  and  a  few  other  fortresses,  had 
alone  resisted  his  assault." 

This  news  caused  a  truce  to  be  agreed  on  between 
Philip  and  Richard,  in  which  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  adjustment  of  their  j^rivate  quarrels  should  be 
deferred  until  this  battle  of  the  Lord  was  fought.  A 
new  Crusade  was  therefore  immediately  undertaken. 
In  the  meantime,  Henry  of  England  died  and  Rich- 
ard succeeded  to  the  throne. 

On  St.  John's  day,  1190,  Philip — having  made 
his  will  —  repaired,  with  a  numerous  retinue,  to  St. 
Denis,  where  he  took  the  oriflamme  from  the  altar;* 
and  received  the  garter  and  staff  from  the  hands  of 
"William,  archbishop  of  Rheims,  together  with  the 
benediction  of  the  nail,  of  the  crown  of  thorns  and 
of  the  arm  of  St.  Simon.  He  thence  repaired  to 
Vezelay,  where  he  took  leave  of  his  barons  and 
placed  hia  kingdom  and  his  son  Louis  t  under  the 


*  It  was  an  ancient  custom  for  the  Kings  of  France,  previously 
to  their  commencino;  a  war,  to  take  a  banner  from  the  altar  of 
the  blessed  St.  Denis;  to  carry  it  with  them  as  a  safe-guard; 
and  to  place  it  in  the  front  of  the  battle.  The  enemy  were  oft- 
times  disheartened  and  took  to  flight  on  merely  recognising  this 
banner.  —  Rigord.     L,\fe  of  Philijy  Augustus. 

+  He  was  born  September  5th,  1187;  and,  consequently,  at  this 
time,  was  not  yet  three  years  old, 


250  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

joint  care  and  guardianship  of  A-dele,his  mother,  and 
his  uncle  William.  This  done,  he  departed  for 
Genoa  where  the  vessels  and  the  requisite  arms  and 
equipments  were  prepared.  Richard  embarked  from 
the  port  of  Marseilles,  and  the  two  Kings  arrived 
almost  simultaneously  at  Messina. 

The  object  of  this  Crusade — the  reconquering  of 
Jerusalem  —  was  frustrated  by  the  jealousy  and 
rivalry  existing  between  the  two  Kings.*  Richard 
took  the  island  of  Cyprus ;  and  Philip,  the  city 
of  St.  John  d'Acre  :  but  the  latter  becoming  suspi- 
cious of  the  King  of  England,  by  reason  of  some 
presents  that  had  been  exchanged  between  Richard 
and  Saladin,  convened  his  knights  in  secret  council, 
apprized  them  of  his  wishes  as  to  the  regulation  and 
disposition  of  the  army,  and  took  leave  of  them  to 
return  home.  He  set  sail  with  a  suite  of  two  galleys 
only,  which  were  prepared  for  him  by  a  Genoese 
named  Roux  de  Rulla,  and,  after  a  voyage  of  fifteen 
days,  reached  France  a  short  time  before  Christmas. 

But  notwithstanding  his  departure  from  the  Holy 
Land,  his  suspicions  of  Richard  were  not  dispelled. 


*  The  special  cause  of  their  misunderstanding  was  jealousy. 
Philip  Augustus  was  eclipsed  by  Richard  Coeur-de-Lion,  "  of 
character  adventurous  and  courage  rash,  whose  siiadow  caused 
the  Saracen  hosts  to  start ;  and  whose  corselet,  on  his  return 
from  the  combat,  bristled  with  arrows  as  a  cushion  does  with 
pins."  —  Vinisauf. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  251 

He  I'eceived  letters  from  the  East  informing  him, 
says  William  Lebreton,  *'  that  the  men  of  the  nation 
of  the  Assissins  had  been  sent  by  order  of  King 
Richard  to  kill  him,  (Philip)  as  they  had  just  slain 
near  Acre,  Conrad,  the  Marquis  of  Montserrat.* 
Whereupon,  the  said  King  Philip  created  a  very 
faithful  body-guard,  and  almost  always  thencefor- 
ward carried  in  his  hand  a  mace  of  brass  or  iron  : 
his  guard  also  carried  clubs  ;  a  custom  which  is  pre- 
served until  the  pi'esent  day.  The  King,  being 
meanwhile  very  much  troubled,  sent  messengers  to 
the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  —  King  of  the  Assis- 
sins— to  demand  promptly  and  clearly  the  truth  of 
this  matter.  In  reply,  the  Old  Man,  by  letters, 
assured  the  King  that  the  rumors  were  false  ;  and 
being  thus  assured  of  the  facts,  and  despising,  hearti- 
ly, these  deceitful  reports,  his  spirit  was  no  longer 
tormented  by  such  dire  suspicions. 

"Nevertheless,  there  exists  among  the  Assissins 
a  creed  detestable  to  God  :  for  they  believe  that  if, 
in  obedience  to  their  master,  they  kill  a  man,  or 
commit  any  other  crime,  they  do  thereby  immediate- 
ly secure  the  salvation  of  their  souls." 

There  is  so  much  reference  by  our  chroniclers  — 
and  especially  those  who  have  written  of  the  Crusades 
—  to  the  Old  Man  of  the  Motmtam  and  his  people, 


*  Walter  Scott  has  introduced  this  assassination  at  the  close 
of  liis  romance,  "  The  Talisman." 


252  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

tlie  Assissins  ;  and  this  reference  is  always  so  vague 
and  unsatisfactory  ;  that  we  think  it  our  duty  to  give 
oui:  readers  a  more  particular  account  of  these  people. 
We  borrow  it  from  the  Venetian  traveller,  Marco 
Polo,  who  lived  one  hundred  years  after  Philip 
Augustus.  He  is  the  first  author  who  speaks  with  any 
precision  concerning  this  sect. 

"  Mulehet,"  says  he,  "  is  the  country  where  he  who 
was  called  the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain  formerly 
lived.  This  word,  Mulehet,  signifies,  in  the  Saracen 
language,  the  place  where  heretics  reside ;  and  the 
inhabitants  are  styled  Mulehetics,  that  is  to  say, 
apostates  from  their  religion,  as  are  the  Patarins* 
among  the  Christians.!  The  Old  Man  was  named 
Aloadin.X  In  a  lovely  valley  between  two  very  high 
mountains  he  had  planted  all  manner  of  trees  and 
flowers  ;^  and  in  the  midst  of  the  extensive  enclosure 
w^ere  built  palaces  and  pavilions,  decorated  with 
golden  tapestry,  pictures  and  silk-embroidered  furni- 
ture. Fountains  of  wine,  of  milk,  of  honey  and  of 
the  purest  water  glided  through  pipes  and  flowed 


♦Albigenses. 

+  "We  shall  see,  hereafter,  that  the  Assissins,  the  Ismailis, 
the  Batenians  and  the  Arsacides —  for  these  are  the  four  names 
given  to  them  indifferently  —  were  in  fact  a  dissenting  sect. 

t  Allah-Eddin ;  who    was   the  last  Emir    but    one   of   the 
Ismailis  of  Persia. 

§  Marco  Polo  is  in  error  here.     These  gardens  were  planted 
by  Hassan  Ben-Sabbah. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  253 

out  in  rivulets  through  these  palaces ;  which,  also, 
were  tenanted  by  beautiful  females,  skilled  in  the  art 
of  singing  and  of  performing  on  all  sorts  of  musical 
instruments ;  and  skilled  especially  in  those  seduc- 
tive arts  most  captivating  to  men.  The  Old  Man's 
purpose  in  creating  this  beautiful  place  may  be  thus 
explained : 

"  Mahomet  had  proclaimed  that  all  who  obeyed 
his  commands  here,  should  dwell  for  ever  in  Para- 
dise, where  were  to  be  found  lovely  women,  streams 
of  milk  and  honey,  and  all  that  is  delightful  in  this 
world.  The  Old  Man,  ambitious  to  be  known  as  a 
Prophet,  and  desirous  to  be  thought  the  companion 
of  Mahomet,  proclaimed  that  he,  too,  could  grant  an 
entrance  into  Paradise  unto  whom  he  chose.  The 
place  we  have  described  was  so  guarded  at  its 
extremity  by  an  impregnable  castle  that  none  could 
gain  admission  by  force,  nor,  indeed,  could  it  be 
entered  at  all,  except  by  a  secret  passage  through  the 
castle.  Being  thus  prepared,  the  Old  Man  held  audi- 
ences with  those  young  men  of  his  court  who  were 
from  twelve  to  twenty  years  of  age,  and  who  seemed 
well  adapted  to  the  profession  of  arms.  He  talked  to 
them  of  Mahomet's  Paradise,  and  of  his  power  to  grant 
admission  to  it :  and,  when  it  pleased  him,  he  would 
give  to  ten  or  a  dozen  of  these  youths  a  certain  drink 
which  stupified  them.*     In  this  condition  they  were 


♦It  was  from  the  use  of  this  beverage  that  they  derived  the 
22 


254  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

transported  into  different  apartments  of  the  palaces 
w^e  have  mentioned.  "When  they  awakened,  they 
found  themselves  in  the  Paradise  they  had  heard 
described.  They  were  surrounded  by  females  who 
sang,  played  upon  instruments,  and  enticed  them  by 
blandishments  and  caresses  ;  and  who  also  presented 
to  them  wines,  viands  and  fruits  of  the  most  exqui- 
site flavor. 

"  At  the  expiration  of  five  or  six  days,  the  Old  Man 
caused  the  same  stupifying  beverage  to  be  again 
administered  to  these  young  men  ;  and  during  their 
torpor  they  were  taken  back  under  his  directions. 
As  soon  as  they  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the 
potion,  they  were  brought  before  him  and  interro- 
gated as  to  where  they  had  been.  '  By  your  kind- 
ness, we  have  been  in  Paradise,'  they  replied  : 
and  they  proceeded  to  relate,  in  presence  of 
the  whole  court,  all  that  they  had  seen.  Their 
recital  naturally  excited  a  desire,  in  the  minds  of 
all,    to   experience    a    similar    felicity.       The    Old 


name  of  Assissins.  Writers  who  are  interested  in  etymologi- 
cal research  have  disputed  much  about  the  origin  of  the  name  ; 
but  this  is  the  most  plausible  of  their  explanations:  The  plant 
ef  which  this  intoxicating  potion  was  made,  was  a  species  of 
hemp  called  hascMch  meaning  herb,  as  if  hemp  was  the  herb 
par  excellence.  This  Arabic  word,  in  the  plural,  forms, 
hasch.ischi7i ;' and  the  corrupted  words  heissessini,  assissini,  as- 
sassini,  have  finally  settled  into  assassi?i  which  has  naturally 
found  its  way  into  our  language  with  the  narrations  of  the 
authors  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  255 

Man  then  proceeded  to  repeat  the  commands  of  the 
Prophet  and  to  promise  an  entrance  into  Paradise  to 
all  those  who  would  faithfully  serve  him.  Indeed , 
he  so  wrought  upon  them,  that  those  whom  he  com- 
manded to  die  in  his  service,  esteemed  themselves 
most  hapjiy.  All  his  enemies,  of  whatever  station, 
were  now  in  peril  of  death  from  his  Assissins,  who, 
themselves  had  no  dread  of  death,  provided  they 
faithfully  executed  the  orders  of  their  master.  They 
voluntarily  exposed  themselves  to  the  greatest  dan- 
gers, counting  as  nothing  the  loss  of  their  present 
lives.  It  may  well  be  supposed  that  a  sovereign  ha- 
ving the  absolute  control  of  such  men,  soon  began  to 
be  regarded  as  a  tyrant.  The  foes  of  such  a  mo- 
narch could  not  hope  to  escape  death." 

The  religion  of  the  Assissins — such  as  it  was — 
originated  under  the  following  circumstances. 

As  Mahomet  died  without  apjiointing  a  successor, 
it  was  not  until  after  the  reigns  of  the  Caliphs  Abou- 
Bekr,  Omar  and  Osman,  that  Ali  (the  cousin  and 
son-in-law  of  the  Prophet)  obtained  the  sovereign 
power.  In  the  interim,  however,  a  class  of  Mussul- 
mans, disowning  the  monarch  de facto,  claimed  that 
All,  alone,  was  the  legitimate  sovereign.  It  may 
easily  be  supposed  that,  when  Ali  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  supreme  power,  this  class  was 
honored  with  his  special  favor  and  protection.  But 
after  his  death,  the  nation,  collectively,  refused  to 
allow  his  sons  to  succeed  him :  this  same  class, 
therefore,  separated  themselves  from  the  rest  of  the 


256  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Mussulmans  and  chose  from  among  the  descendants 
of  Ali  a  certain  number  of  sacred  chiefs  to  whom 
they  gave  the  title  of  Imaums.  In  the  course  of 
time,  dissensions  arose  about  the  legitimacy  of  the 
Imaum ;  and  soon  the  Fatimite  Caliphs  of  Egypt, 
who  professed  to  be  descended  from  one  of  these 
Imaums,  averred -that  they ,  alone,  were  in  possession 
of  the  Imaumate,  and  consequently  had  the  sole 
right  to  transmit  it.  They  even  maintained  that 
they  were  the  incarnate  Divinity;  and,  by  this  pro- 
fession, placed  themselves  above  the  infirmities  and 
duties  of  humanity.  Nevertheless,  they  did  not 
arrogate  this  latter  pretension  except  among  the 
adepts  of  whom  they  were  sure  and  whom  they 
admitted  into  their  secret  conclaves.  It  was  from 
these  assemblies  held  in  Egypt,  that  Hassan,  son  of 
Sabbah,  and  the  founders  of  the  sect  of  the  Assissins 
and  Ismailis  drew  their  doctrine :  consequently, 
they  were  partisans  of  the  Fatimite  Caliphs,  the 
last  of  whom  was  strangled  by  Saladin.*     They  had 


*  From  this  moment,  Saladin  was  exposed  to  the  Ismailian 
poignards,  and  was  several  times  in  great  danger  of  assassina- 
tion. The  first  attempt  on  his  life,  made  by  the  followers  of 
the  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain,  occurred  at  the  siege  of  Aleppo. 
The  Assissins  mingled  themselves  with  the  Sultan's  army ; 
and  one  day  while  he  was  seated,  examining  the  works  of  the 
castle  of  Ezaz,  in  the  environs  of  Aleppo,  one  of  these  despe- 
rate men  threw  himself  upon  him  and  wounded  him  in  the 
cheek  with  a  knife.  The  fanatic  had  already  felled  Saladin  to 
the  ground  when  he  was  sla,in  by  an  emir.     Immediately, 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY,  257 

two  domiciles:  one,  in  Peisia, near  Cazouin  or  Cas- 
bin  ;  the  other,  in  the  mountains  of  Libanus,  where 
they  occupied  the  fortress  of  Messyat.  It  was  to 
this  latter  place  that  Philip  Augustus  sent  deputies 
to  communicate  with  their  chief,  who  was  named 
Si  nan. 

Meainwhile,  Richard,  disquieted  at  the  departure 
of  Philip,  confided  to  his  nephew,  Henry  of  Cham- 
pagne, a  young  prince  of  rare  merit,  the  command 
of  his  army  and  the  care  of  all  the  territory  that  the 
Christians  then  occupied  in  Palestine,  and  embarked 
for  England.  His  voyage,  however,  was  disastrous, 
and  his  vessel  "was  driven  upon  the  ^  shores  of  Italy 
between  Aquileia  and  Venice.  He,  with  a  few  of 
his  suite,  barely  escaped  perishing.    . 

When  the  news  of  Richard's  shipwreck  trans- 
pired, a  certain  Count  named  Maynard  de  Zara, 
joined  by  some  of  the  people  of  the  country,  went 
in  pursuit  of  the  King  with  the  intention  of  making 
him  prisoner — in  defiance  of  the  usage  of  all  Chris- 
tian nations,  which  granted  to  every  pilgrim  wear- 
ino-  the  cross  a  free  passage  through  their  dominions. 
Richard  was  forced  to  flee  before  his  assailants, 
leaving  eight  of  his  knights  in  their  hands.  When 
he  arrived   at   the  archbishopric  of  Saltsbourg  and 


another  darted  from  the  ranks  and  perished  in  the  snme  manner; 
and,  finally,  a  third  followed  the  example,  and  shared  the  fate 
of  his  brethren. 

22* 


258  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

was  near  the  village  of  Freysinghen,  Frederick  de 
Saint-Sauve  pursued  him  with  a  similar  hostile 
purpose  and  made  six  of  his  remaining  knights 
prisoners.  The  King,  now  obliged  to  flee  by  night, 
attended  by  only  three  men,  directed  his  steps 
toward  Austria.  Leoj^old,  who  was  a  Duke  and  a 
relation  of  the  Emperor,  being  apprized  of  Richard's 
situation,  caused  all  the  passes  of  the  country  to  be 
guarded  with  soldiers.  Richard  was  therefore  forced 
to  wander  by  stealth  through  a  strange  land,  and  he 
had  proceeded  in  this  manner  as  far  as  the  environs 
of  Vienna,  when  he  was  discovered  and  taken  in  a 
small  cabin  where  he  had  secreted  himself  Leo- 
pold took  from  him  all  the  valuable  things  he  posses- 
sed ;  and,  in  the  month  of  December  following, 
delivered  him  up  to  the  Emjjeror,  who  im2")risoned 
him  for  a  year  and  a  half  in  defiance  of  honor  and 
justice.  Richard  eventually  obtained  his  liberty  by 
the  payment  of  two  hundred  thousand  marks  of 
silver.* 

The  war  between  Philip  and  Richard,  suspended 
by  their  departure  for  the  Holy  Land,  was  renewed 
on  the  return  of  the  latter  to  England.  It  continued, 
with  varied  fortune,  until  1199,  when  Richard  died 
in  the  manner  thus  described  by  William  Lebreton  : 

"  In  the  year  of  the  Incarnation  1199,  God  visited 
the  land  of  France  ;  for  King  Richard  was  killed,  in 

*  RiGORO.    Life  of  Philip  Mtgiistus^ 


THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY.  259 

the  first  week  of  the  Passion  of  our  Lord,  in  the  ter- 
ritory of  Limoges,  where  he  was  besieging  the  castle 
of  Chahis,  to  gain  possession  of  a  treasure  said  to 
have  been  discovered  there.*  A  knight  shot  an 
arrow  that  wounded  the  King  in  the  shoulder,  and 
he  died  of  the  wound  in  the  course  of  a  few  days." 

Richard  was  succeeded  by  his  brother  John,  sur- 
named  Lack-land. 

This  name  brings  to  mind  two  important  historical 
facts  :  the  murder  of  Arthur  ;  and  the  summons  of 
Philip  Augustus  to  John  Lack -land  to  appear  before 
the  court  of  Peers  :t  a  summons  to  which  the  King 
of  England  made  no  response,  but  which  was  fol- 
lowed   by  a  solemn  judgment,  confiscating  all  his 


*  The  treasure,  in  contending  for  which  he  met  his  death, 
was  said  to  be  an  Emperor,  seated  with  his  wife,  his  sons,  and 
his  daughters  at"  a  table  —  the  figures  and  the  table  being  all 
made  of  the  purest  gold.  An  inscription  indicated  the  age  in 
which  the  personages  lived.  —  Rigord.     Life  of  Phil.  Aug. 

t  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1203,  John,  King  of  England,  took 
prisoner  Arthur,  Count  of  Brittany,  the  son  of  John's  eldest 
brother,  Geoffrey,  and  heir  to  the  kingdom.  This  occurred  near 
Mirabeau,  in  Poictiers;  and  the  King  followed  up  this  act  of 
oppression  by  secretly  murdering  the  young  prince.  The 
barons  made  accusation  of  the  crime  against  him  to  the  King 
of  France  —  John  being  his  vassal,  As,  after  numerous  cita- 
tions, he  refused  to  appear,  he  was,  by  the  sentence  of  Philip's 
peers,  despoiled  of  the  Duchy  of  Aquitaniaand  all  the  territory 
he  possessed  in  the  kingdom  of  France.  —  Des  Gestcs  glorieux 
des  Fran^ais  de  1202  et  13H. 


260  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

dominions  in  France.*  Chaleaubriahd  observes  that 
this  was  the  first  political  sentence  passed  by  this 
high  court.     We  have  been  witnesses  of  the  last. 

After  Richard's  death,  the  war  between  England 
and  France  was  continued  with  equal  animosity, 
but  with  very  different  success.  Philip  had  no  longer 
to  contend  with  the  fierce  hardihood  of  the  Lion-heart. 
And  three  years  after  Richard's  death,  Philip  had 
recaptured  Falaise,  Domfront,  Saint-Michel,  Evreux, 
Sees,  Coutances,  Bayeux,  Lisieux,  and  Rouen. 

On  St.  John's  day,  in  the  year  1204,  the  King  of 
France  made  a  solemn  entry  into  the  capital  of  Nor- 
mandy—  which  had  been  sevei'ed  from  the  French 
crown  for  three  hundred  and  sixteen  years;  and 
which,  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years  afterward,  was 
again  to  be  wrested  from  France  by  Henry  V.  of 
England. 

When  the  intelligence  of  the  taking  of  Rouen 
reached  Verneuil  and  Argues,  they,  too,  surrendered  ; 
and  they  were  the  last  towns  in  Normandy  that  held 
out  for  King  John. 

After  the  submission  of  this  province,  Philip 
marched  into  Aquitania,  took  Poictiers  and  laid 
siege  to  La  Rochelle,  Chinon,  and  Loches.  John, 
meantime,  landed  at  La  Rochelle  with  a  numerous 
army,  proceeded  to  Angers,  which  surrendered  to 

*  It  was  on  account  of  tkis  confiscation  that  the  name  of 
Lack-land  was  given,  in  derision,  to  John. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY,  261 

him  ;  and,  having  detached  the  Viscount  de  Thouars 
from  his  alliance  with  Philip,  he  took  a  position  in 
front  of  the  French  troops. 

Every  thing  seemed  now  ready  for  a  decisive  ac- 
tion; when,  suddenly,  the  hostile  Kings  agreed  upon 
a  two  years'  truce,  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  October, 
1206. 

Philip  took  advantage  of  this  truce  to  commence 
another  Crusade,  not  against  the  Mussulmans  but 
against  the  Christians :  for,  as  he  could  not  vanquish 
the  infidels  abroad,  he  was  eager  to  exterminate  the 
heretics  at  home. 

The  details  of  this  war  for  religion  are  so  well 
known,  that  we  shall  merely  cite  two  examples  of 
the  cruelty  and  fury  with  which  it  was  waged. 

The  army  of  the  Crusaders  arrived  before  Beziers 
and  summoned  the  Catholic  inhabitants  to  deliver  up 
the  heretics,  or  evacuate  the  place.  This  demand 
was  promptly  refused,  whereupon  an  assault  was 
made  and  the  town  taken.  The  leaders  of  the  expe- 
dition then  inquired  of  the  Abbe  de  Citeauxhow  the 
Catholics  could  be  distinguished  from  the  Albigenses 
during  the  massacre  1  "  Kill  them  all,"  replied  the 
legate;  "God  ivill  recognise  his  own  .'" 

The  unknown  author  of  the  history  of  the  war  of 
the  Albigenses,  speaking  of  this  event,  says,  "  Here 
was  done  the  most  cruel  massacre  that  was  ever 
done  in  all  the  world  besides ;  for  neither  old  nor 
young  were  spared,  nor  even  the  sucking  babe  :  all 


262  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

were  butchered.  Those  of  the  citizens  who  were 
able  to  do  so,  retreated  into  the  large  cathedral  of 
St.  Nazaire  ;  but  here  they  found  a  grave  instead  of 
a  refuge.  The  clerks  of  the  church  had  received 
orders  to  ring  the  bells  when  all  the  inhabitants  were 
slain ;  but  no  bell  was  heard,  for  the  soldiers  had  so 
accomplished  their  work  that  neither  priest  nor 
clerk  remained  alive.  All  had  passed  under  the 
edge  of  the  sword  :  not  one  escaped." 

A  short  time  after  this,  Simon  de  Montfort,  a 
captain  of  the  King's  array,  took  several  castles  ;  and, 
having  made  prisoners  of  their  inhabitants,  he  col- 
lected them  all  in  one  body,  put  out  their  eyes,  and 
sent  them  to  Narbonne  under  the  conduct  of  one  of 
their  own  number  whom  he  had  deprived  of  but  one 
eye  —  sparing  the  other  that  he  might  act  as  a  guide.* 

This  Crusade  against  the  Albigenses,  commenced 
by  Kliilip  Augustus,  in  1206,  was  not  terminated 
until  1245,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  IX.  Innocent 
III. ;  St.  Dominick  ;  Raymond,  the  Count  of  Tou- 
louse ;  Simon  and  Amaury,  Counts  of  Montfort, 
were  the  principal  authors  of  this  bloody  drama  of 
which  we  here  take  leave  and  retuna  to  the  affairs  of 
France. 

Here  we  find,  in  1214,  Philip  placed  between  two 
enemies  :  John,  who  had  taken  advantage  of  Philip's 


*  Don  Vaisset  ;     History  of  Langucdoc. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  263 

war  with  the  Albigenses  to  obtain  possession  of 
Anjou ;  and  a  new  antagonist,  induced  by  the  King 
of  England  to  become  such,  — Otho  II.,  Emperor  of 
Germany.  The  latter  advanced  toward  Tournay 
with  a  numerous  army,  collected  principally  from 
Hainault,  Brabant  and  Flanders ;  and,  true  to  the 
prejudices  he  inherited,  he  showed  himself  ready  to 
aid  the  foes  of  the  national  party,  now  represented 
by  the  Kings  of  the  race  of  Hugh  Capet. 

Philip  marched  to  repel  this  invasion,  and  encoun- 
tered the  Germans  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  July, 
1214:  and  as  this  battle  has  become  identified  with 
the  national  remembrances  of  France,  we  Shall  give 
a  more  extended  account  of  it  than  our  liinits  would 
seem  to  warrant. 

Some  days  previous  to  the  battle,  the  German 
army  received  a  reinforcement  of  five  brave  knights 
with  their  attendant  men-at-arms,  sent  to  the  aid  of 
Otho  by  his  ally,  John  of  England.  These  knights 
were,  the  Count  of  Boulogne,  a  liegeman  of  the 
King  of  France  ;  a  man  whom  Philip  had  raised 
from  a  simple  squire  to  the  rank  of  knight :  the 
Count  of  Salisbury,  who  had  now  for  the  third  time 
cx'ossed  the  Channel  to  encounter  the  knights  of 
France  :  Ferrand,  Count  of  Flanders,  who,  in  the 
anticipated  division  of  France,  had  selected  for  his 
portion  the  city  of  Paris  :  the  Duke  of  Brabant,  so 
powerful  in  men  and  lands  that  Otho  had  espoused 
his   daughter :  and  lastly,  the  Duke    of   Limburg, 


264  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

with  many  German  lords  and  counts  in  his  suite, 
whose  names,  at  that  time  illustrious,  are  now  oblite- 
rated from  the  records  of  fame. 

•  Philip  departed  from  Peronne,  on  the  day  after 
the  festival  of  St.  Magdelene.  He  entered  the  do- 
minions of  the  Count  Ferrand,  sword  in  hand, 
burning  all  the  villages  that  lay  in  his  route ;  so 
that  the  French  army  arrived  before  Tournay  as  if 
borne  on  wings  of  fire.  This  city  had  just  been  re- 
conquered from  the  Flemings  by  the  Count  de 
Saint-Paul  and  by  a  very  brave  man  of  sound 
wisdom  and  judgment,  the  bishop  of  Senlis,  a  monk 
of  the  hbspital  of  Jerusalem  who  never  laid  aside 
the  dress  of  his  order,  and  who  for  this  reason  was 
called  friar  Garin.  The  city,  therefore,  opened  its 
gates  to  receive  the  King,  who  encamped  his  army 
around  its  walls,  and  sojourned  there  several  days. 

Otho  now  advanced  as  far  as  a  chateau  called  Mor- 
tain  about  six  miles  from  Tournay,  and  Philip  pi-o- 
posed  to  attack  him  there  ;  but  tlie  French  barons 
disapproved  the  j^lan  because  the  army  would  be 
obliged  to  jjass  a  narrow  and  dangerous  defile  in 
their  route.  Philip  yielded  to  this  counsel,  and  de- 
termined to  retire  upon  the  frontiers  of  Hainault 
and  devastate  the  land  as  he  had  done  in  Flanders. 

Accordingly,  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  July,  he 
broke  up  his  encampment  and  advanced  upon  Lille, 
where  he  intended  to  pass  the  night ;  thus  present- 
ing his  flank  to  the  enemy.     But  Otho,  on  learning 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  265 

tbe  moveinent  of  the  French,  immediately  prepared 
to  fall  upon  their  rear.  Philip  detached  friar  Garin 
and  the  Viscount  de  Melun  with  a  body  of  light- 
troops  to  observe  the  enemy,  and  they  took  post  on 
an  elevated  spot  of  ground  about  three  miles  in  the 
rear  of  the  army,  whence  they  saw  the  entire  Ger- 
man force  advancing  in  order  of  battle.  The  Vis- 
count resolved  to  maintain  his  position  for  a  time,  to 
retard  the  enemy's  progress,  and  Garin  hastened  to 
the  King  to  apprize  him  that  Otho  was  assuredly  on 
the  march  and  evidently  desirous  of  battle,  as  his  in- 
fantry were  placed  in  advance  of  the  cavaliers. 
Philip  ordered  a  halt  and  consulted  his  barons ;  but 
they  almost  unanimously  advised  him  to  continue  his 
route  until  they  should  aiTive  at  a  more  favorable 
spot  for  an  encounter.  He  consented  to  this,  and,  in 
about  an  hour,  arrived  at  the  bridge  of  Bovines,  be- 
tween Cisoing  and  a  place  then  called  Sa?ighifi. 

The  greater  part  of  the  army  had  crossed  the 
bridge  ;  and  Philip,  wearied  with  the  heat  and  the 
march,  had  thrown  off  his  arms  and  seated  himself 
under  a  tree  near  a  church  dedicated  to  St.  Peter, 
when  naessengers  arrived  from  the  Viscount  de  Melun 
to  say  that  he  was  attacked  by  the  enemy  and  could 
not  sustain  himself  without  reinforcements. 

Philip  immediately  entered  the  church  and  made 

a  short  prayer  for  the  success  of  his  troops :  then, 

assuming  his  arms,  he  vaulted  on  his  steed  with  a 

face  as  joyous  as  if  he  were  bound  to  a  feast,  and 

23 


266  THE   FUENCH    MONARCHY, 

drawing  his  sword,  shouted,  in  a  voice  audible  to  half 
the  army,  "  to  arms,  warriors  !  to  arms  !" 

At  this  shout,  the  trumpets  sounded,  and  the  sol- 
diers that  had  passed  the  bridge  wheeled  rapidly  and 
returned.  They  paused  a  few  moments  for  the 
oriflamme  to  be  carried  to  the  front — that  magic 
standard  which  assured  the  army  of  the  protection  of 
St.  Denis,  and  which  in  every  battle  took  precedence 
even  of  the  royal  banner :  but,  as  there  was  a  delay 
in  its  coming  forward,  and  the  emergency  was  press- 
ing, the  King  called  to  his  side  Galon  de  Montigny, 
bearer  of  the  standard  blazoned  with  ileurs-de-lys 
that  always  announced,  by  its  presence,  the  presence 
of  the  King,  and  both  of  them,  putting  spurs  to  their 
horses,  rushed  to  the  head  of  the  rear  ranks  — 
which,  by  the  recent  evolution,  had  become  the  van- 
guard—  and  thus  took  post  in  the  very  front  of  the 
battle. 

The  Germans,  supposing  that  the  King  was  still 
on  the  other  side  of  the  bridge,  were  at  first  discom- 
posed on  seeing  him  appear  with  the  banner  of 
France ;  but,  soon  recovering,  they  extended  them- 
selves along  the  right  of  the  plain  and,  elongating 
their  flank  toward  the  West,  took  possession  of  the 
only  rise  of  ground  in  the  vicinity.  But,  by  so  doing, 
they  brought  the  sun  directly  in  their  faces  ;  and, 
as  if  God  himself  espoused  the  cause  of  France, 
its  rays  this  day  were  intensely  brilliant.  Philip,  pro- 
fiting by  the  error,  spread  his  own  line  along  this  im- 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY,  267 

mense  expanse  of  the  plain,  directly  opposite  to  the  ene- 
my, so  that  his  men  had  the  sun  at  their  backs.  For  an 
instant  the  two  armies  remained  motionless  in  face 
of  each  other  and  separated  by  the  distance  of  but 
an  arrow's  flight.  In  the  centre  of  the  French  line, 
and  a  little  in  advance  of  the  ranks,  was  King 
Philip,  easily  recognised  by  the  golden  crown  which 
surmounted  his  helmet.  The  flower  of  his  chivalry 
was  with  him  :  Barthelemy  de  Roy,  a  man  venerable 
for  age  and  wisdom  ;  Gauthier-le-Jeune  ; .  Guillaume 
de  Barres  ;  Pierre  de  Mauvoisin  ;  Girard  Scropha  ; 
Etienne  de  Longchamps  ;  Guillaume  de  Mortemar; 
Jean  de  Rouvray ;  Guillaume  de  Garlande ;  and 
Henri,  Count  de  Bar,  young  in  years  but  old  in  judg- 
ment ;  distinguished  alike  for  his  bravery  and  his 
beauty,  he  had  succeeded  his  father,  who  was  first 
cousin  to  the  King,  in  the  office  and  dignity  of  Count. 
All  these,  and  many  more  illustrious  men  trained  to 
arms,  had  voluntarily  placed  themselves  around  the 
King,  as  the  post  of  danger  and  honor  :  for  they  well 
knew  that  wherever  Philip  and  the  banner  of  France 
were,  there  would  be  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

On  the  opposite  side,  the  Emperor  Otho  could 
not  be  descried,  being  hid  by  the  dense  ranks  of  his 
troops.  His  presence,  however,  was  certified  by 
his  standard — a  gilded  eagle  surmounting  a  dragon 
attached  to  a  very  long  lance  and  placed  upon  a 
car.  He  was  suppoited  by  Bernard  de  Hostemale, 
Count  Otho  of  Tecklemburg,  Count  Conrad  of  Dorth- 


268  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

raund,  Girard  de  Rauderade,  Hugh  de  Boves,  and 
the  Count  de  Boulogne,  well  assured  that  he  could 
rely  on  their  bravery. 

King  Philip,  as  the  battle  was  about  to  com- 
mence, raised  his  hand  signifying  that  he  wished  to 
speak.  Every  one  was  immediately  silent,  and  he 
pronounced  these  words  with  an  audible  voice  : 

"  All  our  hope,  all  our  confidence  is  placed  in 
God.  King  Otho  and  his  army,  who  are  the  ene- 
mies and  despoilers  of  Holy  Church,  have  been 
excommunicated  by  our  lord  the  Pope.  Their 
wages  are  coined  from  the  tears  of  the  poor,  the  pil- 
lage of  the  Church  and  the  spoils  of  the  abbeys  and 
their  inmates.  But  we  are  Christians.  We  enjoy 
the  communion  and  the  blessing  of  Holy  Church ; 
for,  although  sinners,  we  are  united  to  the  Church  of 
God,  and  we  defend,  according  to  our  ability,  the 
liberties  of  the  clergy.  We  should  therefore  take 
courage  and  expect  divine  mercy  from  Him  who, 
notwithstanding  our  iniquities,  will  gi'ant  us  the 
victory  over  His  and  our  enemies." 

The  knights  then  demanded  the  King's  bene- 
diction. Philip  raised  his  hands,  letting  his  sword 
hang  by  the  chain  that  fastened  it  to  his  wrist ; 
those  who  were  mounted,  bowed  to  the  necks  of 
their  steeds,  those  on  foot  fell  upon  their  knees,  and 
the  blessing  was  pronounced  by  the  King — who, 
alone,  in  the  midst  of  an  army  occupying  a  space  of 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  269 

forty  thousand  paces,*  raised  his  eyes  toward  God, 
as  if  he  drew  from  heaven  the  words  he  uttered  on 
earth. 

After  this,  the  trumpets  sounded  along  the  French 
line  and  the  chaplains  and  priests  began  to  sing  the 
143d  Psalm  :  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  my  strength^ 
which  teacheth  my  hands  to  war  and  my  fingers  to 
fight,"  "  All  sang  it  as  they  best  could,"  says  Wil- 
liam Lebreton,  who  took  part  in  this  pious  concert, 
"  for  tears  streamed  down  their  cheeks  and  sobs 
mingled  with  their  sli'ains." 

Notwithstanding  the  eagerness  of  the  King  and 
the  knights  around  him  for  the  combat,  it  did  not 
commence  with  them,  but  with  the  right  wing, 
between  the  men  of  Count  Ferrand  and  friar  Garin. 
The  bishop  did  not  himself  fight,  on  account  of  his 
dress;  but  he  was  sustained  by  Eudes,  Duke  of 
Burgundy  ;  Gaucher,  Count  de  Saint-Paul ;  John, 
Count  of  Beaumont ;  Mathieu  de  Montmorenci ;  and 
more  than  a  hundred  and  eighty  knights  of  Cham- 
pagne. These  champions,  with  their  men,  had  been 
formed  into  a  single  battalion  by  the  bishop,  who  order- 
ed to  the  rear  certain  soldiers  of  the  front  rank  whose 
courage  and  ardor  were  doubtful,  and  replaced  them 
with  those  on  whom  he  could  fully  rely.    "  The  field," 


*  "  Qjiaran'e  ?nille pas."     This  is  a  manifest  error,  40,000 
French   paces  being  equivalent  to  nearly /or<y  mil:s ;  but  the 
translator  has  neither  the  means  nor  the  authority  to  correct  it. 
23* 


270  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

he  said  to  them,  "  is  vast,  my  noble  knights  ;  extend 
yourselves  in  a  line  across  the  plain,  lest  the  enemy 
enclose  you.  No  knight  must  make  a  buckler  of  his 
fellow,  but  each  must  present  himself  singly  and 
boldly  to  the  foe."  So  saying,  the  bishop,  by  the 
advice  of  the  Count  de  Saint-Paul,  sent  forward  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men-at-arms  on  horseback  to  com- 
mence the  attack,  that  the  noble  knights  might 
find  the  enemy  somewhat  disordered  when  they  came 
to  the  charge. 

The  Flemings,  who,  on  the  other  side,  were  the 
moat  eager  for  the  fight,  were  indignant  that  men-at- 
arms,  instead  of  knights,  should  have  been  despatch- 
ed to  commence  the  attack  ;  they  awaited  the  arrival 
of  their  assailants  without  moving  from  their  posi- 
tion ;  and  this  first  assault  terminated  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  almost  all  the  horses  of  the  French  men-at- 
arms  ;  and  many  of  the  riders  were  wounded,  though 
only  two  were  killed.  The  dismounted  cavaliers 
immediately  formed  themselves  into  infantry  —  for 
they  were  brave  men  from  the  valley  of  Soissons, 
and  fought  as  valiantly  on  foot  as  on  horseback. 

Two  knights  now  advanced  from  the  German 
line,  and,  putting  their  lances  in  rest,  dashed  through 
the  company  of  men-at-arms  and  appeared  in  front 
of  the  French  army,  without  taking  heed  of  those 
whom  they  had  overthrown  and  trodden  down  in 
their  charge.  These  knights  Avere  Gauthier  de 
Ghistelle  and  Buridan,  renowned  for  their  prowess, 
incapable  of  fear,  and  who  regarded  war  as   a   pas- 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  271 

time.  They  were  instantly  joined  by  a  third  knight, 
named  Eustache  de  Maquilin,  who  followed  their 
route,  shouting  in  a  haughty  tone,  "Death  to  the 
French!"  These  three — themselves  knights  — 
disdained  to  combat  with  any  but  knights. 

To  meet  these  men  who  now,  by  their  position, 
defied  the  army  of  France,  Pierre  de  Remy  and  two 
other  knights  sprang  forward,  and  the  six  warriors 
rushed  upon  each  other  with  the  greatest  fury. 
Their  lances  were  shivered  at  the  first  shock,  and 
they  then  drew  their  swords  and  renewed  the  com- 
bat. Neither  party  had  gained  any  advantage,  when 
the  returning  body  of  dismounted  men-at-arms  sur- 
rounded and  made  prisoners  Gauthier  and  Buridan  ; 
while  Eustache  de  Maquilin,  who  had  not  ceased 
crying  "  Death  to  the  French  !"  was  attacked  by  an 
athletic  man,  armed  only  with  a  knife.  Notwith- 
standing the  blows  which  this  knight  showered  with 
his  sword  upon  his  hardy  assailant,  the  latter  succeed- 
ed in  grappling  with  him,  clasped  him  tightly  with 
one  arm  around  his  neck,  and  threw  hirn  backward 
on  the  horse's  croup.  He  then  forced  open  the 
knight's  helmet,  thrust  the  knife  between  his  chin 
and  his  corselet  and  inflicted  a  mortal  wound  first  in 
his  neck,  and  afterward  in  his  breast.  "  Thus," 
says  William  Lebreton,  "  he  who  had  so  insolently 
shouted  '  Death  to  the  French  !'  himself  suffered 
death  from  the  hand  of  a  Frenchman." 

At  this  time,  some  slight  confusion  was  observable 


272  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHV. 

in  the  German  ranks,  as  they  were  preparing  to  move 
to  the  assistance  of  their  three  cliampions.  Gaudier, 
Count  de  Saint-Paul,  perceiving  that  the  moment  to 
charge  had  arrived,  disposed  a  body  of  chosen 
knights  in  the  form  of  a  wedge,  placed  himself  at  the 
forward  and  pointed  extremity  of  the  mass,  and 
all  simultaneously  rushed  onward  with  the  cry, 
"Champagne!  France!"  Impelled  by  the  great 
strength  of  the  horses,  this  wedge  of  iron  was  forced 
into  the  very  heart  of  the  Flemish  battalions,  and  the 
Count  de  Saint-Paul  ti-aversed  their  whole  line, 
giving  and  receiving  numberless  blows,  killing,  indif- 
ferently, men  and  horses,  but  not  pausing  to  make 
prisoners.  Having  gained  the  enemy's  rear,  he 
deployed  his  men  into  a  curved  line,  renewed  the 
charge,  and,  surrounding  a  large  number,  dragged 
them  in  his  fierce  career  toward  the  French  army  as 
a  fisherman  draws  his  net  to  the  shore. 

This  first  assault  on  the  part  of  the  French,  was 
followed  by  a  second  under  the  command  of  the  Vis- 
count de  Melun,  the  Count  de  Beaumont,  Mathieu 
de  Montmorenci,  Michel  de  Harmes,  Hugues  de 
Malaunaye  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  himself.  As 
this  body  of  troops  was  disposed  differently  from  that 
led  by  Gaucher,  the  enemy  was  able  to  offer  a  more 
protracted  resistance  to  the  charge,  and  an  admi- 
rable contest  ensued,  sword  to  sword,  hand  to  hand, 
man  to  man.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  was  the  first 
who  was  unhorsed.     He  was  borne  to  the  earth  by 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  273 

the  thrust  of  a  lance  and  his  steed  was  slain.  The 
Burgundians  in  an  instant  surrounded  their  prostrate 
leader  and  formed  for  him  a  rampart  of  their  bodies ; 
and,  as  he  was  only  bruised  by  his  fall,  he  speedily 
recovered  himself  and  mounted  another  horse.  He 
now  rushed  anew  upon  the  enemy  and  struck  each 
Fleming  that  he  encountered,  as  if  upon  each  in 
particular  he  would  avenge  the  death  of  his  steed. 
During  this  time,  the  Viscount  de  Melun,  after  the 
manner  of  Gaucher  de  Saint-Paul,  had  twice  pierced 
through  the  enemy's  ranks.  Huguesde  Malaunaye, 
dismounted  like  many  others,  had  collected  together 
his  foot-soldiers  and  fought,  on  foot,  at  their  head. 
And  Michel  de  Harmes,  his  shield,  corslet  and  thigh- 
piece  pierced  by  a  Flemish, lance,  was  nailed  to  his 
saddle  and  his  horse ;  so  that  the  steed  and  rider  had 
fallen  on  their  side,  and  the  lance  remained  upright, 
swaying  to  and  fro  like  the  mast  of  a  vessel. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Count  de  Saint-Paul,  ex- 
hausted more  by  the  blows  he  had  given  than  by 
those  he  bad  received,  retired  somewhat  from  the 
field  of  carnage  to  gain  a  moment's  rest,  when  he 
beheld  one  of  his  knights  surrounded  by  the  enemy 
and  about  to  be  slain,  as  he  would  not  surrender. 
As  this  knight  was  very  valiant  and  was  much  be- 
loved by  the  Count,  he  determined  to  rescue  him, 
although  the  attempt  seemed  nearly  desperate.  In 
order,  however,  to  pierce  the  dense  array  of  foemen 
with  the  least  danger  to  himself,  the  Count  suffered 


274  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

his  sword  to  hang  from  his  wrist  by  its  chain,  bent 
himself  forward  to  his  horse's  neck,  clung  firmly  to 
the  steed  with  both  hands,  and,  pressing  its  flanks 
with  his  spurs,  he  bore  down  upon  the  Flemings, 
burst  through  their  ranks  and  reached  the  knight. 
Then  rising  in  his  stirrups,  he  grasped  his  sword 
with  both  hands  and,  swinging  it  around  his  head, 
cut  down  all  within  his  reach,  both  man  and  horse.  In 
this  manner  he  enlarged  the  circle  within  the  mass 
of  iron  that  was  stifling  the  knight.  Then,  both  of 
them  pressing  against  each  other's  sides,  ty  a  simul- 
taneous movement  darted  forward,  overturning  all 
that  opposed  their  progress,  and  returned  in  safety 
to  their  own  battalion.  Those  who  were  witnesses 
of  this  feat  of  arms  affirm  that  for  an  instant  the 
Count  de  Saint-Paul  was  in  imminent  danger,  as  he 
was  struck  by  twelve  lances  at  once,  but  his  horse 
was  not  borne  down,  nor  was  he  raised  from  his 
saddle. 

About  the  time  that  the  battle  commenced  with 
the  right  wing,  the  men  of  the  communes,  who  in  the 
march  of  the  army  had  formed  the  vanguard,  and  who, 
on  hearing  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  had  retra- 
ced their  steps  and  re-crossed  the  bridge  —  arrived  on 
the  field,  bearing  the  oriflamme.  Having  descried  the 
banner  of  the  fleurs-de-lys  which  indicated  the  royal 
presence,  they  compelled  the  knights  to  make  way, 
and  threw  themselves  between  Philip  and  the  Em- 
peror's   army.     They   w^ere    the    men   of    Corbeil, 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  275 

Amiens,  Beauvais,  Compeigne,  and  Arras  ;  all  un- 
impeachably  brave,  but,  being  unprotected  by  ar- 
mor, their  success  in  battle  could  not  equal  that  of 
the  knights  sheathed  in  iron. 

The  Geiman  knights,  aware  that  these  men  were 
comparatively  defenceless,  rushed  upon  and  slaugh- 
tered them  like  sheep.  They  of  course  gave  way 
at  all  points,  and  the  German  knights  were  soon  in 
view  of  the  King  of  France;  indeed,  the  Duke  de 
Boulogne  was  for  an  instant  confronted  with  him 
—  but,  recognising  his  sovereign,  he  lowered  his 
lance  in  token  of  respect  and  turned  aside  to  attack 
Robert,  Couiit  de  Dreux. 

The  knights  who  surrounded  Philip  pushed  for- 
ward at  once  to  meet  the  Germans  ;  and,  in  their 
eagerness,  forbore  to  consider  that  they  must  pass 
over  the  bodies  of  the  communes  to  reach  the  enemy. 
They  dashed  on,  therefore,  over  all  intervening 
obstacles,  and  the  advancing  foes  were  arrested  in 
their  progress  as  by  a  wall. 

Otho,  finding  it  impossible  to  reach  the  King 
through  this  phalanx  of  knights,  detached  a  party  of 
infantry  in  pursuit  of  the  men  of  the  communes ; 
and  when  they  had  driven  these  routed  troops  back, 
and  become  mingled  with  them,  they  suddenly 
wheeled,  marched  upon  Philijj's  rear  and  surrounded 
him  and  the  few  knights  of  his  suite  before  he  per- 
ceived that  they  were  enemies.  Immediately,  Galon 
de   Montigny,   who  bore   the  standard    of  France, 


276  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY, 

Uttered  aloud  cry  of  distress,  lowering  and  raising 
the  banner  to  show  that  the  King  was  in  danger. 
The  German  infantry  pressed  upon  Philip  and  drag- 
ged him  to  the  ground  with  their  hooked  lances  ;  they 
then  thrust  at  him  with  their  pikes  ;  but,  happily 
his  armor  was  too  well  tempered  to  be  pierced  in 
front.  At  this  juncture,  Peter  Tristan  jumped  from 
his  horse,  threw  himself  before  the  King  and  with 
his  sword  severed  the  heads  from  the  lances  of  the 
infantry.  Five  or  six  other  knights  followed  his 
example,  and,  with  their  combined  efforts,  dispersed 
and  killed  the  assailants  ;  while  the  King,  whom  God 
had  preserved  fi'om  injury,  sprang  lightly  on  another 
horse.  At  that  instant,  one  of  his  bravest. khights, 
named  Etienne  de  Longchamp,  rolled  dead  at  his 
feet,  having  been  wounded  through  the  visor  of  his 
helmet  by  the  stroke  of  a  dagger :  for  the  enemy, 
in  this  battle,  made  use  for  the  first  time,  of  a  weap- 
on entirely  unknown  to  the  French  :  it  was  a  long 
and  narrow  blade  with  three  edges,  equally  sharp  at 
each  angle  from  the  point  to  the  hilt. 

The  danger  that  Philip  had  just  escaped,  served 
only  to  augment  his  courage.  He  rushed  into  the 
midst  of  his  faithful  knights,  preceded  by  Galon  de 
Montigny  who  bore  the  royal  banner,  and  shouted  — 
"  Hola !  knights  and  men-at-arms !  let  the  King 
pass!"  At  these  words,  every  rank  opened;  and 
Philip,  whom  the  Emperor  supposed  to  have  been 
killed,  or  at  least  made  prisoner,  appeared  again  in 
front  of  his  army. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  277 

Otho's  knights  now  began  to  fall  back;  for  the 
French,  animateJ  by  their  King,  charged  desperately 
upon  them  and  penetrated  into  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  the  Emperor.  In  fact,  Pierre  Mauvoisin 
seized  his  horse  by  the  bridle,  but  as,  owing  to  the 
crowd  that  pressed  around,  he  was  unable  to  force 
him  otF  a  ptisoner,  Girard  Scropha  aimed  a  dagger 
at  his  breast.  The  excellence  of  his  armor  resisted 
the  stroke,  and  Scropha  repeated  it :  but  the  weapon 
glanced  to  the  head  of  Otho's  horse,  passed  through 
the  eye  into  the  brain,  and  there  remained  so  firmly 
wedged,  that  the  knight  could  not  withdraw  it, 
though  he  essayed  to  do  so  with  both  hands. 

The  horse,  mortally  wounded,  reared,  and  by  that 
movement  forced  the  bridle  from  Pierre  Mauvoisin's 
grasp  ;  then,  turning  toward  the  German  line,  it  bore 
its  rider  among  his  own  soldiers  with  a  speed  and 
frenzy  that  nothing  could  resist.  The  Emperor  thus 
turned  his  back  upon  the  French  and  fled  from  the 
fight,  abandoning  his  standard  to  the  victors.  At 
sight  of  this,  Philip  raised  his  sword,  exclaiming,  "I 
swear  to  you  on  my  word,  my  knights,  that  you  will 
not  see  his  face  again  to-day."  And,  indeed,  Otho's 
wounded  steed  fell  at  a  distance  of  about  five  hun- 
dred yards ;  another  was  brought  him,  which  he 
mounted  ;  but,  instead  of  returning  to  re-animate  his 
men,  he  continued  his  flight  in  the  opposite  direction. 

Nevertheless,  the  knights  whom,  for  their  approv- 
ed valor,  he  had  chosen  to  attend  in  his  suite,  sustain- 
24 


278  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

ed  their  reputation,  and  were  as  faithful  to  his  cause 
after  his  base  retreat  as  before.  They  threw  them- 
selves between  the  French  knights  and  their  retreat- 
ing sovereign,  and  the  combat  was  at  once  renewed. 
These  brave  men  were  Bernard  de  Hostemale, 
Count  Otho  of  Tecklemburg,  Count  Conrad  of 
Dorthraund,  Gerard  de  Rauderade,  and  the  Count 
of  Boulogne. 

Fortune,  however,  decided  in  favor  of  the  French, 
and  these  knights,  with  the  exception  of  the  last,  were 
all  made  prisoners,  after  having  many  times  exchang- 
ed their  lances  and  broken  their  swords  to  the  hilt. 
The  chariot  bearing  the  Emperor's  standard  was 
forthwith  shattered  to  pieces,  the  dragon  was  broken, 
and  the  eagle,  with  its  wings  plucked  off,  was  brought 
to  the  King. 

Meanwhile,  the  ranks  of  Otho's  army  were  rapidly 
diminishing.  The  Dukes  of  Louvain  and  Limburg, 
Hugh  de  Boves  and  others,  with  their  troops  of 
fifties  and  hundreds,  abandoned  the  fight  as  fast  as 
their  horses  could  carry  them.  The  Count  de 
Boulogne  remained  alone  upon  the  field.  His  troop 
of  eighty  knights,  early  in  the  action,  formed  them- 
selves into  a  hollow  square,  two  men  deep,  and  ac- 
companied the  Count  wherever  he  moved,  that,  when 
exhausted  or  hard  pressed,  he  might  retire  within 
their  ranks,  as  into  a  moving  tower  or  fortress,  to 
recover  himself;  whence,  after  a  few  moments,  he 
could  sally  out  and  renew  the  fight.     This  band  of 


THE    FRENCH    MO^fARCHY.  279 

eighty  men  was  now  reduced  to  six  ;  but,  with  despe- 
rate valor,  they  held  in  check  six  times  their  own 
number  of  the  French,  striking  and  hewing  down  all 
who  approached  the  Count —  for  seven  hours  of  com- 
bat had  not  sufficed  to  weary  their  iron  nerves.  Prob- 
ably they  would  much  longer  have  continued  the 
strife,  had  not  a  brave  soldier,  by  name  Pierre  de 
Tourelle,  whose  horse  they  had  slain,  glided  like  a  ser- 
pent between  their  horses'  £eet,  and  in  this  manner 
approached  the  Count  without  being  discovered  : 
then,  crawling  under  the  Count's  horse,  he  plunged  his 
sword  up  to  the  hilt  in  its  belly.  One  of  the  knights, 
perceiving  the  occurrence,  seized  the  wounded 
horse  by  the  bridle,  and,  putting  his  own  to  a 
gallop,  dragged  the  Count  unwillingly  from  the  field, 
while  the  remaining  five  covered  their  retreat.  But 
two  brothers,  Quenon  and  Jean  de  Condune,  made  a 
detour  and  attacked  the  Count  from  one  side.  They 
immediately  beat  down  the  knight  who  led  his  horse, 
and  at  the  same  moment,  the  horse  fell  and  the  Count 
was  thrown  and  entangled  in  the  animal's  trappings^ 
Hugh  and  Gautier  Desfontaines  with  Jean  de 
Rouvray  now  came  up  and  disputed  with  Quenon 
and  Jean  de  Condune  for  the  possession  of  the  Count. 
During  this  time  Jean  de  Nivelle  and  his  retainers 
also  arrived.  He  was  a  knight  of  tall  stature  and 
handsome  face,  but  his  courage  and  heart  did  not 
tally  with  the  beauty  of  his  person,  for  throughout 
this  battle  he  had  not  yet  fought  with  any  one.    How- 


280  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

ever,  he  now  contended  with  the  rest  to  induce  the 
belief  that  he  had  a  share  in  the  Count's  capture  : 
and  his  retainers  had  already  drawn  the  Count  from 
beneath  his  horse  and  were  bearing  him  off  when  the 
bishop  of  Senlis  approached.  The  Count,  on  seeing 
the  bishop,  held  out  to  him  what  remained  of  his 
sword  and  surrendered  himself  on  the  sole  condition 
that  his  life  should  be  spared.  It  was  fortunate  for 
him  that  the  bishop  arrived  as  he  did  ;  for  a  young 
man,  named  Comot,  to  whom  the  Count  had^refused 
to  surrender,  because  the  youth  was  not  a  noble,  was 
endeavouring  to  slay  him  :  he  had  already  cleft  his 
helmet  with  a  sword-cut,  and  was  about  to  stab  him 
beneath  his  corslet.  All  the  bishop's  authority  was 
requisite  to  pluck  the  Count  out  of  the  hands  of  this 
furious  soldier.  The  bishop  having  prevailed,  how- 
ever, the  prisoner  stood  upon  his  feet  without  fur- 
ther molestation  :  but  at  this  moment,  perceiving 
Arnoult  d'Oudenarde,  a  renowned  knight,  who  was 
hastening  to  his  assistance  with  some  men-at-arms, 
he  feigned  to  be  unable  to  sustain  himself,  and  sank 
back  upon  the  ground,  waiting  for  the  rescue.  But 
his  captors  forced  him  to  mount  a  horse,  and  led  him 
toward  the  French  lines.  Arnoult  and  his  followers 
were  taken  prisoners. 

Philip  now  took  a  survey  of  the  vast  plain  which, 
one  hour  before,  had  been  occupied  by  the  German 
army,  —  but  that  army  had  vanished  like  a  cloud 
of  smoke.     All  were  taken,  put  to  flight,  or  slain 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  281 

excepting  a  corps  of  Braban^ons,  consisting  of  about 
seven  hundred  men  whom  Otho  had  placed  in  front 
of  his  army  for  a  rampart,  and  who,  like  a  rampart, 
remained  immoveable.  Philip,  amazed  at  so  much 
valor  in  men  of  the  communes,  sent  against  them 
Thomas  de  Saint-Valery  (a  man  of  birth,  commen- 
dable for  his  virtues  and  somewhat  distinguished 
for  his  learning)  with  fifty  cavaliers  and  two  thousand 
infantry,  summoning  them  to  surrender.  On  their 
stubborn  refusal  to  comply,  Thomas  de  Valeiy 
attacked  them  and  massacred  almost  the  whole 
troop.  This  last  point  of  resistance  being  overcome, 
nothing  remained  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the 
French  army  :  but  the  mighty  voice  of  Philip  for- 
bade them  to  pursue  the  enemy  to  a  greater  distance 
than  one  mile — as  niglii  was  approaching  and  they 
were  ignorant  of  the  country;  moi'eover,  he  was 
fearful  that  his  prisoners  might  escape  unless  care- 
fully guarded.  Indeed,  this  latter  consideration 
caused  him  great  uneasiness,  and  he  gave  the  signal 
for  the  trumpets  to  sound  the  recall. 

The  victory  was  complete  and  its  results  were  of 
vast  importance.  It  extinguished  all  hope  enter- 
tained by  the  Germans,  of  legaining  the  influence 
over  France  which  they  possessed  during  the  reigns 
of  the  men  of  the  conquering  race  :  and  it  induced 
John  of  England,  who  was  then  in  Poitou,  to  con- 
clude a  truce  "for  five  years  with  King  Philip. 

This  truce  was  signed  at  Chinon,  in  the  month  of 
24* 


282  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHV. 

September,  1214  :  and  France,  like  an  eagle  shaking 
its  wings,  found  herself  relieved  by  one  battle  of 
two  armies,  that  assailed  the  two  extremities  of  her 
dominion. 

Soon  after  this,  a  civil  war  broke  out  in  England 
between  King  John  and  his  nobles.  The  latter 
called  to  their  assistance  young  Louis,  son  of  Philip 
Augustus,  who,  however,  was  at  that  time  engaged 
in  a  war  with  the  Albigenses,  and  could  send  them 
only  a  few  good  knights  with  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  armed  men  ;  but  he  promised  to  follow  these 
in  person  as  soon  as  he  was  able.  And  at  the  end 
of  a  year  he  made  good  this  promise  notwithstand- 
ing his  father's  prohibition ;  who  was  resolved  to 
observe  the  truce,  and  who,  finding  his  commands 
disregarded,  confiscated  the  property  of  his  son  and 
of  the  barons  who  accompanied  him  to  England. 

Meanwhile,  Louis  entered  London  ;  besieged  and 
took  Rochester  and  Canterbury;  joined  to  his  stand- 
ard the  King  of  Scotland  and  William  Longsword 
brother  of  King  John,  and  forced  his  antagonist  to 
retreat  beyond  the  Humber,  in  the  North  country, 
where  he   soon   after   died.*     Louis   received   the 


*  William  formed  this  alliance  because  some  one  on  whom 
he  could  rely  informed  him  that  ^vhile  he,  WilHam,  was  a 
prisoner  in  France,  King  John,  disregarding  the  natural  alli- 
ance between  two  brothers,  had  committed  incest  with  his 
wife.  —  Gfillaume  Lebbeton  ;    Vie  de  Philippe  AiLguste. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  283 

intelligence  of  his  death  while  pressing  the  siege  of 
the  castle  of  Dover. 

This  event,  which  at  first  seemed  favorable,  pro- 
ved fatal,  to  his  interest.  The  greater  part  of  the 
English  nobles  had  rallied  around  Louis  from  the 
hatred  they  bore  to  John :  but  this  hatred  was  ex- 
tinguished with  his  life.  John  left  a  son  two  years 
old,  named  Henry,  whom  the  Cardinal  Galon 
crowned  King  immediately  on  the  death  of  his 
father.  His  uncle,  William  Longs  word,  was  the  first 
to  give  an  example  of  loyalty  to  the  new  sovereign 
by  abandoning  Louis  of  France.  This  example  was 
soon  followed  by  the  other  lords,  and.  Louis,  entirely 
deserted,  concluded  a  truce  and  returned  to  France. 

In  1217,  he  crossed  the  channel  with  a  fresh  levy 
of  troops  and  endeavored  to  enforce  an  acknowledge- 
ment of  his  claim  to  the  English  crown;  but  he  was 
entirely  unsuccessful ;  and,  after  making  peace  anew, 
he  returned  to  take  part  in  the  Crusade  against  the 
Albigenses,  in  1219. 

This  expedition  was  also  a  failure.  The  Crusa- 
ders at  first  took  Marmande  and  slew  the  inhabitants 
to  the  number  of  fifteen  hundred  "  with  the  women 
and  little  children.  Thence  they  marched  to  Tou- 
louse, which  they  besieged  and  assaulted,  but  with 
little  vigor,*  some  among  us  maliciously  hindering 

*  Toulouse  was  three  times  besieged  in  the  space  of  twenty 
years,  and  braved  the  assaults  of  three  Kings,  although  the  first 
siege  was  conducted  in  person  by  Philip  Augustus,  the  second 
by  Louis  VIII.,.  and  the  third  by  Saint-Louis,  —  Louis  IX, 


284  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

the  success  of  the  Cross  ;  and  the  affair  proving  thus 
abortive,  the  warriors  returned  home  laden  with 
more  blame  than  praise."* 

Philip  Augustus  fell  sick  in  1223,  and  expired  on 
the  evening  of  the  ides  of  July,  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
nine,  after  a  reign  of  forty-three  years.  He  had  con- 
tinued the  monarchical  work  of  Louis-le-Gros,  and 
increased  the  stability  of  the  government,  the  king- 
dom and  the  throne.  He  re-conquered  Normandy, 
Touraine,  Anjou,  Maine,  and  Poitou ;  purchased 
the  counties  of  Auvergne  and  Artois ;  and  recover- 
ed Picardy,  a  great  number  of  places  in  Berri,  and 
divers  other  counties,  chatellanies  and  seigniories. 

In  the  meantime,  the  spirit  of  enfranchisement  was 
not  idle,  but  made  immense  progress  in  the  nation. 
It  was  sapping  the  seigniories  behind,  which  the 
King  v/as  attacking  in  front ;  and  forming  around 
Paris  —  made  free  by  the  presence  of  the  King — a 
belt  of  independent  communes  that  not  only  paid  no 
taxes  or  imposts  to  the  sovereign,  but  sometimes 
even  marched  against  him ;  as  is  attested  by  the  list 
of  prisoners  taken  at  the  battle  of  Bovines,  among 
3vhom  were  found  men  belonging  to  fifteen  different 
communes.t 


*  GUILLAUME  LeBRETON. 

+  The  fifteen  communes  were  Noyon,  Mont-Did ier,  Monti-euil, 
Soissons,  Bruyeres,  Ilesdin,  Cerny,  Cressy  en  Laonnais, 
Craon,  Vesly,  Corbie,  Compeigne,  Roye,  Amiens,  and  Beau- 
vais. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  285 

Under  this  reign,  the  University  of  Paris  first 
gained  celebrity.  The  trivium  and  quadrivium  were 
taught  there.  The  trivium  consisted  of  grammar, 
rhetoric,  and  logic;  the  quadrivium,  of  astrology, 
geometry,  arithmetic,  and  music. " 

Philip  Augustus  commenced  or  completed  several 
works  of  public  utility.  The  cathedral  of  Notre- 
Dame,  in  Paris,  the  foundations  of  which  were 
scarcely  above  ground  when  he  ascended  the  throne, 
was  entirely  finished  when  he  died.  Paris,  the  pro- 
gressive growth  of  which  rendered  a  new  line  of 
fortifications  necessary,  was,  by  his  ordei's,  sur- 
rounded with   walls  J*  and  he    aspired    to   render 


*  In  the  same  year  **  — 1211 —  King  Philip  the  Magnani- 
mous surrounded  Paris,  toward  the  Soutli,  with  a  walltt  ex- 

*♦  We  might  be  led  to  suppose,  from  the  manner  in  which 
this  author  expresses  himself,  that  this  great  work  was  under- 
taken in  this  year.  But  it  is  not  so.  The  walls  were  com- 
menced in  1190,  and  finished  in  1211. 

+t  From  the  bank  of  the  Seine  toward  the  North  the  wall 
passed  inside  the  Louvre,  crossed  the  streets  St.  Honore,  Deux 
Ecus,  the  site  of  the  Hotel  de  Soissons,  the  streets  Coquillicre, 
Montmartre,  Montorgueil,  the  site  of  the  present  Italian  Theatre, 
the  streets  Fran9aise,  Saint-Denis,  Bourg-l'Abbc,  St.  Martin, 
continued  the  length  of  the  street  Grenier-St.-Lazare,  crossed 
the  streets  Beaubourg  and  St.  Avoie  to  the  site  of  the  present 
Hotel  de  Mesme;  and,  passing  over  the  site  of  the  Convent 
des  Blancs-Manteaux  and  thence  between  the  streets  Francs- 
Bourgeois  and  Rosiers,  terminated  at  the  river  between  the 
Monastery  of  the  Jesuits  and  the  Convent  of  Ave-Maria,     It 


286  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

obsolete  its  name  Lutetia,*  by  being  the  first  to  pave 
three  of  its  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  streets.t  It 
was  he,  also,  who  built  the  Louvre,  where  his  feuda- 
tories  assembled  to  swear  fealty  and  homage,  and 


tending  on  both  sides  as  far  as  the  Seine  and  enclosing  a  very 
great  extent  of  ground.  He  then  forced  the  owners  of  the  fields 
and  vineyards,  so  enclosed,  to  lease  them  to  the  citizens  for  the 
purpose  of  building  houses  on  them,  so  that  the  whole  city,  to 
the  very  walls,  appeared  full  of  houses.  —  Guillaums  Lebreton. 

*  From  luluyn,  which  signifies  vmd. 

i  The  King,  one  day,  looked  out  at  a  window  of  his  palace, 
whence  he  was  wont  frequently  to  watch  the  flow  of  the  Seine. 
Suddenly,  the  carriages  drawn  by  horses  in  the  middle  of  the 
streets  caused  an  insupportable  fetid  odor  to  arise  from  the 
mud  disturbed  by  their  passage.  The  King  could  not  endure 
it;  and,  from  that  moment,  he  meditated  an  enterprise  as  diffi- 
cult as  it  was  indispensable,  the  difficulties  and  the  cost  of 
which  had  always  prevented  his  predecessors  from  undertaking 
it.  Having,  therefore,  convoked  the  prevosts  and  citizens  of 
the  town,  he  ordained,  in  virtue  of  his  royal  authority,  that  all 
the  quarters  and  streets  of  Paris  should  be  paved  with  hard 
and  solid  stones,  —  Rigord;   Vie  de  Philippe  Augusle, 

had  eight  principal  gates;  the  first,  near  the  Louvre,  on  the 
river's  edge;  the  second,  where  the  priests  of  the  Oratoire  now 
reside;  the  third,  opposite  St.  Eustache,  between  the  streets 
Platriere  and  du  Jour;  the  fourth,  at  the  street  St.  Denis:  the 
fifth,  at  the  corner  of  the  street  Grenier-St,-Lazare;  the  sixth, 
called  la  porte  Barbette,  between  the  street  Francs-Bourgeois 
and  the  Convent  des  Blancs-Manteaux;  the  seventh,  near  the 
Monastery  of  the  Jesuits  ;  and  the  eighth,  on  the  border  of  the 
river  between  the  port  St.  Paul  and  the  bridge  Marie.  —  Sainte- 
Foix ;  Esquisses  hisioriqties. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  287 

where  they  found  a  prison  when  they  broke  their 
oath. 

Philip  Augustus  was  the  first  of  the  descendants 
of  Hugh  Capet  who  neglected  to  have  his  son  con- 
secrated during  his  life-time.  Perhaps  he  thought 
the  precaution  needless  ;  or  he  may  have  feared  that 
the  Pope  —  to  whom  King  John  had  been  a  vas- 
sal for  an  annual  pension  of  one  thousand  marks  of 
silver  — might  refuse  his  sanction  to  Louis  whom  he 
had  excommunicated  on  account  of  his  war  with 
England.  At  all  events,  he  substituted  a  martial 
ceremony  for  \he  religious  one  —  and  knighted  him 
in  presence  of  his  whole  court. 

One  month  after  the  death  of  Philip,  Louis  was 
consecrated  and  crowned  at  Rheims.  As  his  was  a 
reign  of  three  years'  duration  only,  it  was  productive 
of  but  few  important  events  :  his  expeditions  into 
England  and  his  Crusades  against  the  Albigenses 
having  occurred  during  the  life-time  of  his  father. 

We  find  him,  however,  making  war  with  much 
valour  and  some  fortune,  not  against  the  English  of 
Normandy  and  Guienne  whom  his  father  had  driven 
from  the  kingdom,  but  against  some  of  the  French 
lords  who  still  held  out  for  them.  He  thus  took  the 
chateau  of  Niort  and  the  town  of  Rochelle  from 
Savary  de  Mauleon.  "  On  hearing  the  news  of  these 
two  victories,"  says  the  unknown  historian  of  Louis 
VIIT.,  "the  lords  of  the  country  of  Limoges,  of 
Perigord  and  of  Aquitania — with  the  exception  of 


288  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

the  Gascons  who  lived  beyond  the  Garonne — prom- 
ised, with  much  submission,  fidelity  to  King  Louis, 
and  they  kept  their  faith." 

In  1226,  Louis  again  took  up  the  Cross  against  the 
Albigenses.  His  army  assembled  at  Bourges,  march- 
ed by  Nevers  and  Lyons,  and  arrived  before  Avignon, 
which  had  been  deemed  imj^regnable.  The  siege 
was  long  and  obstinately  sustained,  but  eventually 
the  town  surrendered.  Its  trenches  were  filled  up  : 
three  hundred  houses,  garnished  with  towers,  were 
razed  to  the  ground  ;  and  the  King  marched  on  to 
Toulouse. 

But  he  fi:)und  his  health  declining,  and  left  the 
expedition  under  the  command  of  Imbert  de  Beau- 
jeu.  He  had  jiroceeded  on  his  return  to  France, 
as  far  as  Montpensier,  in  Auvergne,  when  he  was 
forced  to  stop.  The  malady  by  which  he  was  attack- 
ed made  rapid  progress,  and  he  expired  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  Octobei',  1226,  in  the  thirty-ninth 
year  of  his  age.  He  bequeathed  ten  thousand  livres 
to  two  thousand  lazar-houses  built  in  France  to 
accommodate  those  suffering  under  diseases  brought 
thither  by  the  Crusaders  from  the  Holy  Land. 

The  first  order  of  Mendicants  was  established  in 
this  reign  ;  as  was  also  the  edict  prohibiting  prosti- 
tutes from  "  wearing  gowns  with  rolling  collars, 
trains,  or  girdles  embroidered  with  gold."* 

*  Chateaubriand;  Analyse  raisonnce  de  Vhisloire  de  France. 


THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY.  289 

Louis  VIII.  makes  but  an  insignificant  figui'e  in 
history;  although  his  contemporaries  style  him  Coeur- 
de-Lion  for  his  bravery,  and  Lion-Pacifique  for 
his  mildness  :  and  Nicolas  de  Bray,  author  of  a 
poem  in  his  praise*  has  elevated  him  above  Alexan 
der  and  Ccesar.t  His  name  is  extinguished  between 
tlie  names  of  his  predecessor  and  his  successor  :  he 
was  the  son  of  Philip  Augustus,  and  the  father  of 
Saint-Louis. 

Louis  IX.  was  not  yet  fourteen  years  old  when 
Blanche  of  Castile,  his  mother,  caused  him  to  be 
consecrated  at  Rheims  by  the  arch-bishop  of  Sois- 
sons.t  During  the  minority  of  Louis,  the  regent 
Blanche,  was  occupied  in  suppressing  the  partial 
revolts  of  the  nobles,  who  rebelled,  ostensibly,  in 
scorn  of  the  regency  of  a  woman  ;-  but  in  reality 
from  their  hatred  of  the  royal  power,  which  was 
daily  establishing  itself  more  firmly.    The  communes. 


♦  Faits  etGestes  de  Louis  VIII. 

t  "  Doubtless,  if  the  sisters,  tlie  Daughters  of  Destiny,  had 
not  so  speedily  cut  his  thread  of  life,  in  the  middle  of  his  bril- 
liant youth,  the  great  Alexander — to  whom  the  world  entire 
was  subjected,  from  Cadiz,  city  of  Hercules,  to  the  Ganges  — 
returning  to  this  earth,  would  appear  insignificant  and  would 
humble  himsslf  before  Louis ;  and,  compared  with  Louis,  he  who 
constituted  the  glory  of  the  Roman  nation —  Julius  Csesar  — 
notwithstanding  his  greatness  and  his  merit,  would  be  only 
scorned." 

i  The  See  of  Rheims  was  vacant. 
25 


290  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

too,  increased  in  numbei'  and  the  popular  enfran- 
chisement made  rapid  progress.  In  1233,  the  King 
attained  his  majority  and  took  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment into  his  own  hands. 

Louis  IX.  is  a  perfect  type  of  the  Middle  Age 
personified.  His  arm  was  powerful;  his  spii'it,  ad- 
venturous; his  soul,  religious;  and  his  habits,  simple. 
He  fought  in  person,  like  the  meanest  of  his 
knights.  He  administered  justice  under  an  oak 
without  marshals  or  guards.  And  he  died  in  a  tent, 
a  thousand  leagues  from  his  capital,  with  his  eyes 
raised  to  heaven,  saying,  "  I  shall  enter  into  thy 
habitation;  I  shall  adore  thee  in  thy  holy  temple, 
and  confess  myself  to  thee,  O  Lord  !"* 

Saint-Louis  had  his  chronicler,  and  his  poet : 
N^angis  wrote  his  history  and  Joinville  his  epic  — 
for  the  naiTalion  of  Joinville  is  a  perfect  poem  ; 
charming  in  its  simplicity,  marvellous  in  its  crudity; 
and  sublime  in  its  hope  and  faith. 

In  considering  the  reign  of  St.  Louis,  it  will  be 
necessary  only  to  point  out  the  prominent  events. 

In  1224,  the  victories  of  Tailleboui'g  and  Saintes 
were  obtained  over  Hugh,  Count  de  la  Marche,  who 
was  sustained  in  his  revolt  by  England.t 


*  Chronicle  of  Guillaume  de  Nangis. 

+  He  gave  battle  before  Saintes  to  the  said  Hugh,  Count  de  la 
Marche,  and  to  Henry,  King  of  the  English,  whom  Hugh  had 
persuaded  to  pass  into  France  with  a  great  multitude  of  armed 


THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY.  291 

In  1250,  the  fifth  Crusade,  into  Egypt,  was  under- 
taken and  the  King  was  made  prisoner.* 

In  1251,  arose  the  troubles  occasioned  by  the 
shepherds,! — Pastoureaux. 


men,  because  his  wife  was  mother  of  King  Henry.  King  Louis 
conquered  them  valiantly,  put  them  to  flight,  and  made  prison- 
ers of  a  great  number  of  their  soldiers.  —  GHjillaume  de  Nangis. 

*  It  happened,  by  permission  of  God,  and  perhaps  in  punish- 
ment of  the  sins  of  some,  that  the  King  of  France,  Saint-Louis, 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Saracens,  as  did  also  his  two  brothers, 
Alphonse,  Count  of  Poitou  and  Charles,  Count  of  Anjou.  — Ibid. 

t  A  surprising  event,  a  novel  and  unheard-of  thing,  occurred 
in  the  kingdom  of  France.  Some  chiefs  of  brigands,  in  order 
to  seduce  simple  folk  and  spread  the  Crusade  among  the  peo- 
ple, announced,  by  inventions  full  of  duplicity,  that  they  had 
seen  a  vision  of  angels,  and  that  the  holy  Virgin  Mary  had 
appeared  to  them  commanding  them  to  take  the  Cross  and  as- 
semble an  army  of  herdsmen  and  of  the  lowest  orders  of  the 
people,  whom  the  Lord  had  chosen  to  march  to  the  rescue  of 
the  Holy  Land  and  of  the  King  of  France  who  was  cap- 
tive in  that  country.  They  represented  by  images  painted  on 
banners  the  tenor  of  this  vision.  Passing,  first,  through  Flan- 
ders and  Picardy,  they  drew  after  them,  by  their  exhortations, 
the  herdsmen  and  the  common  people  of  the  villages  and  fields 
as  the  loadstone  draws  iron.  When  they  arrived  in  France, 
their  numbers  were  so  increased,  that  they  ranked  by  thousands 
and  marched  like  an  army.  Whenever,  in  traversing  the 
country,  they  passed  by  shepherds  tending  their  flocks,  the 
shepherds,  abandoning  their  charge  without  consulting  their 
parents,  possessed  by  I  know  not  what  frenzy,  joined  them- 
selves to  these  criminal  adventurers.  While,  truly,  the  herds- 
men and  simple  folk,  united  with  these  men  with  a  good  intent, 


292  THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

In  1259,  Henry,  King  of  England  was  reinstated 
in  the  possession  of  his  ancient  dominions  South  of 


there  were  in  the  ranks  many  thieves  and  murderers,  secretly 
guilty  of  every  imaginable  crime,  by  whose  comisel  and  direc- 
tion the  whole  band  was  governed.  When  they  passed  by 
villages  and  towns,  they  raised  their  clubs,  hatchets  and  other 
weapons  in  the  air,  and  thus  rendered  themselves  so  terrible, 
that  no  one  to  whom  was  confided  tlie  judicial  authority  dared 
gainsay  them  in  anything.  They  had  fallen  into  such  error, 
that  they  presumed  to  solemnize  marriages,  to  bestow  the 
Cross,  and  to  grant,  at  least  in  appearance,  the  absolution  of 
sins.  But,  what  was  worse  than  all,  they  so  led  the  common 
people  into  error  that  many  of  them  affirmed  and  others  believed 
that  the  viands  and  wine  they  carried  with  them  did  not  dimin- 
ish, but  rather  increased,  by  being  used.  The  clergy  learned 
with  great  sorrow  that  the  people  had  fallen  into  such  delu- 
sion :  but  in  endeavoring  to  oppose  its  progress,  they  became 
odious  to  the  misguided  folk,  who  conceived  such  an  aversion 
to  the  priests  that  they  killed  many  whom  they  found  in  the 
fields,  making,  as  we  think,  martyrs  of  them.  Queen  Blanche, 
whose  admirable  wisdom  at  that  time  governed  the  kingdom  of 
France,  would  not,  perhaps,  have  allowed  their  error  to  make 
such  progress,  had  she  not  hoped  that,  through  them,  assistance 
might  be  rendered  to  her  son,  the  King  St.  Louis,  and  to  the  Holy 
Land.  "When  these  people  had  traversed  Paris,  they  conceiv- 
ed that  they  had  passed  all  dangers;  and  they  gave  themselves 
out  to  be  virtuous  men,  which  position  they  proved  by  this  argu- 
tnent ;  viz.,  that  in  Paris,  the  source  of  all  knowledge,  they  had 
been  gainsayed  in  nothing.  They  then  began  more  eagerly 
than  ever  to  give  themselves  up  to  their  follies,  and  addicted 
themselves  with  new  ardor  to  rapine  and  depredation.  Having 
proceeded  to  Orleans,  they  attacked  the  clerks  of  the  University 
and  killed  a  great  number:  but  many  of  their  own  party  were 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  293 

the  Loire,*  in  exchange  for  his  pretensions  to  {he 
Duchy  of  Normandy  and  the  counties  of  Anjou, 
Mans,  Touraine,  Poitou,  and  their  fiefs. 

In  12G9,  the  sixth  and  last  Crusade  against  the 
Turks  was  undertaken,  during  which  the  King  died 
amid  the  ruins  of  ancient  Carthage  ;t  and  the  oath 
of  fidelity  and  homage  to  his  son  Philip  was  taken  by 
the  crusading  barons  and  knights. 

also  slain.  Their  chief,  whom  they  called  Mastei-  of  Hungary, 
thence  led  them  to  Bourges,  wherethey  entered  the  synagogues 
of  the  Jews,  destroyed  their  books  and  deprived  them  of  all  their 
wealth.  But  when  they  had  quitted  Bourges,  the  citizens  of 
the  town  pursued  them,  arms  in  hand,  and  killed  the  Master 
with  many  of  his  band.  After  this  check,  the  remainder  dis- 
persed themselves  in  different  places  and  were  slain  or  hung 
for  their  crimes. —  Guillaume  de  Nangis. 

During  the  time  that  King  Louis  was  captive,  a  great  num- 
ber of  young  shepherds  and  youths  in  the  kingdom  of  France 
suddenly  took  the  Cross:  but  they  were  dispersed  in  a  short 
time  like  a  cloud  of  smoke. — Des  Gesks  glorieux  des  Franqais. 
*  St.  Louis,  King  of  France,  gave  Henry  a  great  sum  of 
money,  and  assigned  to  him,  for  himself  and  his  successors, 
much  country  in  the  dioceses  of  Limoges,  Perigueux,  Saintes 
and  Agen,  on  condition  that  he  and  his  successors  should  hold, 
in  fief  of  the  Kings  of  France,  these  lands,  Bordeaux,  Bayonne, 
and  all  Gascony ;  and  that  the  King  of  England,  enrolled 
among  the  barons  of  France,  should  be  called  peer,  and  King  of 
Aquitania.—  Ibid. 

t  After  these   words,  he  fell  asleep   in  the  Lord.     All  the 

barons  and  knights,  then  present,  swore  fidelity  and  homage, 

in  behalf  of  the  kingdom  of  France,  to  Philip,  his  son,  who 

succeeded  him  in  the  camp  under  the  walls,  of  Carthage.  —  Ibid. 

25* 


294  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Of  the  minor  events  that  took  place  at  home 
during  the  reign  of  St.  Louis,  were:  — 

The  establishment  of  the  Sorbonne  College  by 
Robert  de  Sorbonne  :* 

The  introduction  into  France  of  the  Mariner's 
Compass,  by  the  Venetian,  Marco  Polo,  in  1260  :  t 

The  use  of  astronomical  tables,  called  Alj>honsme: 

The  substitution  of  the  trial  by  witnesses,  for  that 
by  combat : 

The  police  of  tradesmen,  established  by  Etienne 
Boileau,  their  provost : 

The  resistance  of  the  King  to  the  usurpations  of 


♦  At  this  epoch  — 1264  —  illustrious  theologians  flourished  in 
Paris  :  frcre  Thomas  d'Aquinas,  of  the  order  of  Dominicans; 
frere  Bonaventureof  the  order  of  Cordeliers;  and,  among  the 
lay-clergy,  mal.trc  Gerard  d' Abbeville;  and  maitre  Robert  de 
Sorbonne,  who  instituted  the  schools  of  the  Sorbonne. —  Chro- 
nique  de  Nangis. 

i  It  is  not  clear  that  Jean  Gira  or  Goya,  or  Flavio  Ji\ia 
d'Amalfi  invented  the  Mariner's  Compass.  Marco  Polo  might 
have  brought  it  from  China  in  1260 ;  and  an  old  French  poet, 
Guyot  de  Provins,  exactly  described  the  Compass  under  the 
name  of  mar inetla,  or  picrre  mariniere,  more  than  fifty  years 
preceding  the  journey  of  the  Venetian  into  China.  The  adop- 
tion by  all  nations  of  the  fleur-de-lys  to  designate  the  North  in 
the  representation  of  the  cardinal  points,  seems  to  confirm  the 
claim  of  France  to  the  honor  of  perfecting  the  Compass.  —  Cha- 
TEAUBRi,4ND,  Ano,lyse  raisonn6e. 

M.  Viardot,  in  his  essay  on  the  Moors  of  Spain,  claims  for 
them  this  invention,  and  dates  it  from  the  eighth  century. 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  295 

the  Court  of  Rome,  and  his  interference  in  favor  of 
the  liberties  of  the  Gallican  Church  :  and, 

The  Code,  or  civil  establishment,  of  St.  Louis. 

The  events  that  took  place  abroad,  were  :  — 

The  founding  of  the  Prussian  dominion  l)y  the 
knights  of  the  Teutonic  order;   A.  D,  1230  : 

The  rise  of  the  free  cities  of  Italy  and  the  Han- 
seatic  towns  of  Germany  ;   1254  : 

The  commons  admitted  into  the  Parliament  of 
England;   1265:  and, 

Conradin  beheaded  by  order  of  Charles  of  Anjou, 
brother  of  St.  Louis,  whom  Pope  Urban  IV.  in- 
vested with  the  kingdom  of  Naples  ;   1268. 

Thus  the  epoch  of  St.  Louis'  reign  is  remarkable 
for  the  contemporaneous  advancement  of  poetry, 
liberty,  and  science  :  * 

Of  poetry,  by  the  songs  of  Thibault,  Count  of 
Champagne : 

Of  science,  by  the  invention  of  the  Mariner's 
Compass  ;  the  foundation  of  the  Sorbonne  ;  and  the 
encouragement  granted  to  the  University.* 


*  There  arose  in  Paris,  a  great  dissension  between  the  stu- 
dents and  the  citizens.  The  citizens  had  killed  some  clerks; 
their  brethren,  therefore,  quitting  Paris,  dispersed  themselves 
through  different  countries.  Louis,  seeing  this,  was  greatly 
grieved  that  the  study  of  letters  and  philosophy,  by  which  the 
treasure  of  knowledge  is  acquired—  which  treasure  excels  all 
others  —  should  be  discontinued  in  Paris  :  for  it  had  come  from 
Athens  to  Rome  and  from  Rome  to  France,  with  the  honors  of 


296  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Of  liberty  —  the  liberty  of  the  Church,  by  the 
ecclesiastical  Code  ;  civil  liberty,  by  the  appeal  to 
royal  judges  ;  and,  political  liberty,  by  the  admission 
of  the  commons  into  parliament. 

Although  the  death  of  St.  Louis  caused  great  sor- 
row and  mourning  throughout  the  camp,  it  did  not 
interrupt  the  siege  of  Tunis.  Charles,  King  of 
Sicily,  arrived  by  sea  with  a  host  of  knights  and 
restored  confidence  to  the  Christians  ;  the  Saracens, 
on  the  contrary,  seeing  that  the  Crusaders  were  pre- 
paring a  multitude  of  warlike  machines,  and  would 
soon  attack  them  simultaneously  by  sea  and  land, 
proposed  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  was  accepted. 

The  principal  conditions  of  the  treaty  were  : 

That  all  Christian  prisoners  in  the  kingdom  of 
Tunis  should  be  restored  to  liberty  : 

That  Catholic  priests  should  have  the  right  of 
preaching  the  Christian  faith  in  the  monasteries 
throughout  the  kingdom  : 


chivahy,  under  the  auspices  of  Charlemagne  and  in  the  train 
of  Denis  {Dionysius)  the  Greek  Areopagite,  who  was  the  first 
to  disseminate  the  Catholic  faith  in  Paris.  This  very  pious 
King,  St.  Louis,  fearing  for  the  prosperity  of  his  realm,  —  be- 
cause science  and  knowledge  (sapientia  ct  scienlia)  are  the  wealth 
of  social  life — and  fearing,  also,  that  the  Lord  might  say  to 
him,  "  as  thou  hast  banished  knowledge,  I  banish  thee,"  this 
King,  we  say,  commanded  the  said  clerks  to  return  to  Paris, 
received  them  with  great  clemency,  and  compelled  the  citizens 
to  make  to  them  prompt  reparation  for  all  the  wrongs  they  had 
sustained. — Guillaume  de  Nangis. 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  297 

That  those  who  desired  to  be  baptized,  should  be 
allowed  the  privilege  without  molestation  ; 

And,  that  the  King  of  Tunis,  after  having  paid  all 
the  expenses  incurred  in  this  expedition  by  the  Kings 
and  barons,  should  continue  to  pay  the  tribute  he 
owed  to  the  King  of  Sicily. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  treaty,  the  King  and 
nobles,  finding  that  the  army  was  greatly  diminished 
by  contagious  diseases,  now  resolved  to  return  to 
France  by  tlie  way  of  Sicily  and  Italy.  But,  before 
quitting  Africa,  they  swore  upon  the  body  of  St.  Louis 
that  they  would  return  to  the  Holy  Land,  remain 
ing  in  France  no  longer  than  was  necessary  to  crown 
the  King,  to  recruit  their  health  and  to  levy  another 
army.  Some  knights,  however,  more  zealous  than 
the  rest,  refused  to  return  at  all ;  but  put  themselves 
under  the  conduct  of  prince  Edward,  eldest  son  of 
Henry  of  England,  and  marched  into  Syria  to  do 
battle  for  Christendom.* 

Philip  III.  left  this  land  of  desolation,  carrying 
with  him  the  bodies  of  his  father,  St.  Louis,  and  of 
his  brother,  the  Duke  de  Nevers.  On  his  route  home- 
wai'd,  his  sister  died ;  and,  entering  France  Avith 
this  funeral  train,  he  proceeded  to  the  abbey  of  St. 
Denis  to  inter  the  remains  of  his  family  where  they 
had  desired  to  be  buried. 

In  the  month  of  August  next  following,  Philip  was 

*GUILLAUME    DE    NaNGIS, 


29S  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

consecrated  and  crowned  at  Rheims  by  the  bishop  of 
Soissons. 

Phil'qj  the  Bold  was  placed  in  contrast  with  St. 
Louis,  his  fatlier,  and  Philip  the  Fair,  his  son,  as 
Louis  VIII.  had  been  with  Philip  Augustus  and  St. 
Louis :  and  as  a  husbandman  suffers  ajield  to  lie  Jul- 
low  between  two  harvests,  so  Providence  permitted 
France  to  repose  between  two  great  reigns.  We  quote 
this  from  M.  de  Chateaubriand,  because  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  give  a  more  just  idea,  in  a  more  figurative 
style,  of  Philip  III. 

Indeed  this  reign,  which  lasted  for  fifteen  years, 
presents  no  remarkable  feature,  except  the  war  of 
the  King  against  Peter  of  Aragon:  the  causes  of 
which  we  will  here  consider. 

Charles  of  Anjou,  brother  of  St.  Louis,  after 
having  vanquished  and  slain  Mainfroy,  picked  up  the 
crown  of  Sicily  from  the  foot  of  Conradin's  scaffold. 
Pope  Clement,  following  Urban's  policy,  confirmed 
to  him  the  ownership  of  a  kingdom  that  he  had  no 
right  to  bestow ;  and  the  French  established  them- 
selves at  Palermo,  whence  they  extended  their  con- 
quests over  the  whole  island. 

The  Sicilians,  thereupon,  entered  into  a  league  with 
Peter  of  Aragon  who,  through  his  wife,  the  daughter 
of  Mainfroy,  had  a  claim  to  the  crown  usurped  by 
Charles.  Peter  raised  a  powerful  array  and  col- 
lected his  ships  ;  which  hostile  preparations  excited 
the  suspicions  of  the  then  Pope,  Martin,  and  of  Charles ; 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  299 

and  they  demanded  an  explanation  of  his  intentions. 
Peter  returned  answer  by  a  solemn  deputation  to 
Rome,  that  the  forces  he  had  assembled  were  desti- 
ned to  the  service  of  God,  who  had  inspired  him 
with  the  intention  of  taking  the  Cross  to  afford  aid 
to  the  Christians  in  Jerusalem.  And,  in  fact,  he  put 
to  sea;  but  he  anchored  in  a  port  of  Africa  and  held 
himself  in  readiness  to  second  the  attempt  of  the 
Sicilians  to  rid  themselves  of  Charles. 

"  In  the  year  1281,"  says  Guillaume  de  Nangis, 
"  the  inhabitants  of  Messina  and  Palermo,  filled  with 
rage  against  King  Charles  and  the  French  residents, 
massacred  the  latter  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex : 
nay,  more,  they  destroyed  all  of  their  own  country- 
women who  were  about  to  become  mothers  from 
their  connexion  with  Frenchmen." 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  fact  that  this  mas- 
sacre was  committed  on  Easter-day  at  the  hour  of 
vespers.  The  ringing  of  the  vesper-bell  was  the 
signal  for  commencing  the  work  of  death ;  and  the 
French  were  recognised  by  being  forced  to  pro- 
nounce the  word  cicai ;  as  twenty  years  later,  and 
on  the  occasion  of  a  similar  massacre,  at  Bruges, 
they  were  compelled  to  repeat  in  low  Dutch,  the 
words  scilt  ende  vriendt  —  (buckler  and  friend.) 

Charles  of  Anjou,  who  was  at  Rome  when  this 
massacre  took  place,  immediately  sent  his  son 
Charles,  prince  of  Salerno,  to  ask  aid  of  his  nephew 
Philip  in.  of  France.     In  the  meantime,  he  himself 


300  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

passed  the  Pliaros  of  Messina  and  laid  siege  to  the 
town.  It  was  then  that  the  inhabitants  of  Palermo 
received  Peter  of  Aragon  and  his  army  into  their 
port.  All  Sicily  hailed  him  as  a  deliverer  and  he 
was  elected  King.  Upon  this,  Charles  raised  the 
siege  of  Messina  and  returned  to  France.  He  after- 
ward went  into  Apulia,  where  he  died  on  the  seventh 
of  January,  1284.  /> 

Pope  Martin  now  excommunicated  Peter,  and 
gave  his  kingdom  of  Aragon  to  Charles,  son  of  King 
Philip,  as  Pope  Clement  had  before  given  the  king- 
dom of  Conradin  to  Charles  of  Anjou.  The  King  of 
France  raised  an  army  and  marched  toward  the 
Pyrenees  to  put  his  son  in  possession  of  the  domin- 
ion thus  bestowed ;  he  crossed  these  mountains  by 
passes  before  deemed  impracticable,  and  laid  siege 
to  Gerona. 

Peter  of  Aragon  hastened  to  defend  his  realm. 
He  learned  that  a  French  convoy  was  to  repair  to 
the  port  of  Roses,  where  the  royal  flotilla  was  sta- 
tioned, in  order  to  transport  provisions  to  it  and  to  the 
camp.  He  therefore  placed  himself  in  ambush,  on 
the  route  the  convoy  proposed  to  take,  with  five 
hundred  knights  and  three  thousand  foot-soldiers. 

Raoul,  lord  of  Nesle,  Constable  of  France,  the 
Count  de  la  Marche  and  Jean  de  Harcourt,  being 
informed  of  this  ambuscade,  marched  in  advance  of 
the  convoy  with  a  hundred  and  fifty-six  armed 
knights.     The  Aragonese,  seeing  so  small  a  troop, 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  301 

sallied  forth  to  destroy  them,  but  the  French  defend- 
ed themselves  valiantly ;  and  at  length,  notwith- 
standing the  disparity  of  their  numbers,  defeated 
the  assailants.  The  Count  de  la  Marche  mortally 
w^ounded  Peter  in  the  fray,  but  he  was  not  conscious 
of  having  done  so,  as  Peter  was  disguised  in  a  suit  of 
common  armor ;  and  the  wounded  man,  unknown 
to  the  French,  expired  in  an  abbey. 

As  Winter  was  approaching,  Philip,  ignorant  of  his 
antagonist's  death,  garrisoned  Gerona,  which  had 
surrendered  after  the  victory  of  the  French,  disband- 
ed his  flotilla  and  retired  to  Perpignan  where  the 
malady,  which  for  some. time  had  afflicted  him,  made 
such  rapid  progress  that  he  died  on  the  fifteenth  of 
October,  1285,  two  months  after  Peter's  death,  and  al- 
most in  sight  of  the  harbor  of  Aigues-Mortes,  whence 
his  father  had  embarked  to  die  at  Tunis.  His  flesh 
and  entrails  were  buried  in  the  great  church  at  Nar- 
bonne,  and  his  bones  and  heart  were  carried  for  in- 
terment to  St.  Denis.* 

Philip  was  the  first  monarch  who  granted  letters  of 
nobility;  and,  consequently,  was  the  first  who  aimed 
a  blow  at  the  aristocracy  by  elevating  a  commoner  to 
that  rank.  The  man  who  obtained  this  distinction 
was  a  silversmith,  named  Raoul.  But  two  centuries 
had  elapsed  since  the  people   struggled  to  escape 


*    GUILLAUME-  DE   NaNGIS. 

26 


302  THE    FRENCH    MONAUCUY. 

from  the  condition  of  serfs  ;  and  already  they  began 
to  be  nobles. 

Philip  IV,,  or  Philip  the  Pair,  succeeded  to  the 
throne  in  1285. 

This  reign,  which  was  placed  between  the  pure- 
feudal  and  the  monarchical-feudal  government,  a 
reign  of  social  transformation, —  was  one  of  the  most 
important  of  the  monarchy,  on  account  of  that  which 
fell  and  that  which  arose  during  its  continuance. 

The  religious  spirit  that  had  incited  the  Crusades ; 
the  power  of  the  Popes  who  had  accomplished  their 
democratic  mission  ;  the  powerful  order  of  the  Tem- 
plars, who  were  condemned  as  criminals,  yet  who, 
perhaps,  suffered  as  martyrs  —  these  fell. 

The  parliament  and  the  Third-Estate,  ( Tiers-Etat) ; 
the  republic  of  William  Tell  in  Switzerland ;  the 
republic  of  Artevelde  in  Flanders  —  these  arose  5 
and  the  monarchical  ground  trembled  at  these  first 
eruptions  of  the  popular  volcano. 

The  religious  spirit  of  the  Crusades  was  thus  dis- 
sipated. The  oath  taken  by  the  Crusaders  on  the 
body  of  St.  Louis,  was  blown  away  by  the  tempest 
that  dispersed  their  navy  ;  and  the  dissensions  be- 
tween Peter  of  Aragon  and  Charles  of  Anjou  effa- 
ced this  spirit  from  the  minds  of  Christendom  so 
effectually  that,  of  all  the  territory  which,  two  centu- 
ries before,  the  Christians  had  sworn  to  conquer  and 
subdue,  the  cities  of  Tripoli  and  St.  Jean  d'  Acre, 
now  alone  remained  in  their  possession.     Besides, 


TflE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  303 

this  latter  city  was  defended  only  by  the  King  of 
Cyprus,  by  the  two  military  and  religious  orders  of 
the  Templars  and  the  Hospitallers,  and  by  fifteen 
hundred  men  in  the  joay  of  Pope  Nicolas. 

In  1288,  three  years  after  Philip  the  Fair's  acces- 
sion to  the  throne,  Tripoli  was  taken  by  the  Sultan  of 
Babylon,  and  all  the  Christian  inhabitants  were  killed 
or  made  slaves.  The  inhabitants  of  Acre,  terrified 
at  this,  immediately  demanded  and  obtained  a  truce 
of  two  years. 

In  defiance,  however,  of  this  truce  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  wishes  of  the  Templars  and  the  Hospi- 
tallers, the  hired  troops  of  the  Pope  made  an  excur- 
sion upon  some  Saracen  towns,  and  massacred  all 
the  infidels  who  fell  in  their  way,  without  regard  to 
age  or  sex. 

On  receiving  the  news  of  this  violation  of  the 
treaty,  the  Sultan  commanded  the  inhabitants  of 
Acre  to  surrender  to  him  the  offenders,  under  penal- 
ty of  having  their  city  destroyed  in  case  of  their  re- 
fusal.     They  did,  nevertheless,  refuse. 

The  Sultan  then  assembled  an  immense  army  and 
marched  to  take  summary  vengeance  on  the  Chris- 
tians; but  he  fell  ill  on  his  route :  and,  finding  that  he 
could  not  survive,  he  called  his  seven  emirs  around 
his  bed,  gave  to  each  four  thousand  horsemen,  and 
twenty  thousand  foot-soldiers  and  ordered  them  to 
proceed  to  attack  the  city.  An  army  equally  large 
remained  behind  to  guard  his  tent. 


304  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

He  then  caused  his  son  to  be  elected  his  succes- 
sor, and  charged  him  to  follow  the  precedent  army 
with  the  remainder  of  the  troops  and  complete  the 
destruction  of  Acre,  as  soon  as  he  should  expire. 

This  injunction  was  faithfully  obeyed ;  and  the 
young  Sultan  was  soon  in  command  of  the  united 
forces  near  the  walls  of  Acre,  erecting  and  preparing 
a  great  number  of  warlike  machines  to  ensure  a  vic- 
tory. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  May,  1290,  these  messengers 
of  death  slowly  and  heavily  approached  the  walls, 
notwithstanding  the  determined  resistance  of  the  be- 
sieged :  and,  having  reached  their  appropriate  posi- 
tions, they  rained  upon  the  city  a  shower  of  stones 
for  two  entire  days.  The  terrified  inhabitants  sent, 
by  ship,  to  Cyprus,  the  aged,  the  sick,  the  women 
and  children — all,  indeed,  who  were  useless  for  the 
defence  of  the  town.  They  also  transported,  by  the 
same  vessels,  their  treasures,  precious  merchandise 
and  holy  relics ;  so  that  there  remained  in  Acre  only 
about  twelve  thousand  men  among  whom  were 
scarcely  five  hundred  knights. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  May  the  Saracens  made  an  as- 
sault on  that  part  of  the  walls  defended  by  the  King 
of  Cyprus.  The  city  would  undoubtedly  have  been 
taken  if  the  Templars  had  not  hastened  to  his  assist- 
ance. The  next  day,  under  pretence  of  fatigue,  he 
placed  this  post  in  charge  of  the  commander  of  the 
German  troops  ;  and,  at  night,  he  fled  from  the  town 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  305 

by  sea  with  all  his  retainers  and  nearly  three  thou- 
sand men  besides. 

The  next  morning,  the  Saracens,  perceiving  how 
few  soldiers  were  in  position  to  defend  that  part  of 
the  walls  which  they  had  already  nearly  taken,  ad- 
vanced in  mass  toward  the  same  point,  filled  the 
trench,  effected  a  breach,  and  penetrated  into  the 
city.  Once  more,  the  Templars  and  Hospitallers 
repulsed  them  with  admirable  bravery,  but  it  was 
their  last  triumph.  The  day  following,  the  Saracens 
forced  an  entrance  by  the  gate  of  St.  Anthony  and 
were  again  encountered  by  these  vigilant  knights  ; 
but,  by  this  time,  their  arms  and  fortunes  grew 
weary.  One  after  another,  the  soldier-monks  were 
slain,  confessing  one  another  and  glorifying  unto 
death  the  God  for  whom  they  died.  The  city,  of 
course,  was  taken. 

The  Saracens  then  entirely  destroyed  it.  Ram- 
parts, towers,  churches,  houses  —  all  were  demolish- 
ed. The  patriarch  and  the  Grand  Master  of  the 
Hospital,  wounded  and  bleeding,  were  placed  by 
some  of  the  survivors  on  board  a  vessel,  in  the  hope 
of  reaching  the  Archipelago,  or  Sicily  ;  but  they  died 
at  sea.  "Thus,"  says  Guillaume  de  Nangis,  "was 
the  city  of  Acre  —  the  sole  and  last  asylum  of 
Christianity  in  this  land — destroyed;  destroyed  by 
the  enemies  of  the  faith,  and  not  one  King  in  all 
Christendom  would  render  it  assistance  in  its  dis- 
tress." 

86* 


306  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  contention  between  Pope  Boniface  VIII.  and 
King  Philip  IV.  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  the 
reign  of  the  latter.  We  shall  consider  its  causes,  its 
occuiTences  and  its  results. 

The  relations  between  Philip  and  the  holy  father 
were,  at  first,  amicable.  We  find,  in  Guillaume  de 
Nangis,  that  in  1297  Philip  produced,  in  an  assem- 
bly of  the  prelates  of  France,  a  letter  by  which 
Boniface  VIII.  granted  to  him  and  his  next  heir  per- 
mission to  receive  a  tenth  part  of  the  goods  of  the 
Church,  with  the  approbation  of  the  French  clergy, 
whenever  the  necessities  of  the  kingdom  should  re- 
quire it. 

Some  time  after  this,  the  bishop  of  Pamiers, 
having  uttered  at  the  court,  certain  words  offensive 
to  the  royal  majesty,  was  arrested  by  Philip,  but 
afterward  claimed  by  Pope  Boniface  on  the  ground 
that  the  bishop  was  amenable  only  to  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal court.  The  King  ordered  him  to  be  set  at 
liberty  and  driven  from  the  kingdom.* 

Boniface,  offended  at  this  manner  of  compliance 
with  his  demand,  sent  a  bull  to  the  King,  requiring 
him  to  acknowledge  that  he  held  the  kingdom  of 
France  of  the  Holy  See  and  declaring  that  whoever 
maintained  or  even  entertained  a  contrary  opinion, 
was  a  heretic.  The  King  burned  this  bull  in  a  full 
assembly  at  his  palace,  and  sent  back  those  who 

♦  Continuation  of  Guillaume  de  Nangis. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHV.  307 

brought  it,  without  any  reply  whatever*  The 
keeper  of  the  seals,  Pierre  Flotte,  undertook  the 
composition  and  transmission  of  the  answer  to  the 
Pope.  This  is  the  commencement  of  the  letter  that 
he  wrote : 

"  Philip,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  the  French, 
to  Boniface,  representing  himself  to  be  Pope,  little 
or  no  salutation. 

"  That  your  very  great  simplicity  may  know 
that  we  are  not  submissive  to  any  for  temporali- 
ties." etc.t 

Boniface  replied  to  this  by  another  bull,  in  which 
were  set  forth  his  grievances  and  his  grounds  of 
complaint  against  Philip.  He  accused  the  King  of 
overwhelming  his  subjects  with  taxes,  of  debasing  the 
coin,  and  of  receiving  the  revenue  of  vacant  bene- 
fices.! 

The  three  orders  that  had  just  been  constituted 


♦  Des  gestes  glorieux  des  Francais. 

\  Chateaubriand  ;  Analyse  raisonnee  deVhistoire  de France. 

t  By  a  letter  to  Philip,  the  Pope  liad  previously  authorized 
these  receipts.  "  Besides,  the  said  Pope  had  granted  to  him,  to 
aid  in  defraying  the  expenses  of  war,  all  the  revenues,  profits 
and  dues  of  a  year  from  prebends,  priories,  archdeaconries, 
deanships,  church-benefices  and  all  other  ecclesiastical  digni- 
ties whatsoever,  which  had  become  vacant  during  the  period  of 
the  war  in  the  kingdom  of  France,  —  bishoprics,  archbishop- 
rics, monasteries  and  abbeys  excepted."  —  Guili.aume  de 
Nangis. 


308  THE    FPvENCH    MONARCHY. 

wrote  to  Rome  :  the  clergy,  in  Latin  ;  the  noblesse 
and  the  Third-Estate,  in  the  Romance  language. 
The  letter  of  the  clergy  is  extant ;  its  style  is  grave 
and  firm.  Those  of  the  noblesse  and  Third-Estate 
are  lost ;  biit  the  reply  of  the  cardinals  proves  that  in 
the  letters  of  these  tw^o  orders  the  Pope  did  not 
receive  even  the  appellation  of  sovereign  pontiff'. 

A  bull  which  placed  the  kingdom  under  interdict 
and  excommunicated  Philip,  immediately  followed 
the  reply  of  the  cardinals.  The  two  nuncios,  who 
were  the  bearers  of  this  latter  missive,  were  put  in 
prison  and  the  three  orders  were  convoked  at  the 
Louvre.  A  public  prosecution  was  instituted  against 
Boniface.  It  was  set  forth  in  the  declaration  that  he 
denied  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  that  he  doubted 
the  real  presence  of  the  body  of  the  Saviour  in  the 
Eucharist;  that  he  was  sullied  by  the  infamous  sin  ; 
and  that  he  called  the  French,  Patarins*  The  three 
orders  adhered  to  each  other  ;  and  Philip  appealed 
from  the  bulls  of  Boniface  to  future  councils  and 
future  Popes.t 

Not  content  with  this,  Philip  gave  orders  to  Guil- 
laume  Nogaret  de  St.  Felix,  who  was  in  Italy,  to 
seize  on  the  person  of  the  Pope  and  conduct  him  to 
Lyons,  where  the  keys  of  St.  Peter  were  to  be  taken 
from  him  in  a  general  council. 


*  Nickname  of  the  Albigenses. 

t  Chateaubriand:  Analyse  raisomiee. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  309 

We  quote  from  Chateaubriand  the  naiTation  of  this 
event :  it  will  be,  amid  our  barren  prose,  an  oasis  to 
the  reader : 

"  Nogaret  conspired  with  Colonna,  a  member  of 
that  powerful  Roman  family,  whom  Boniface  had 
persecuted.*  The  enterprise  Avas  conducted  with 
secrecy  and  success.  Nogaret  and  Colonna,  aided 
by  certain  lords  whom  they  had  persuaded  to  join 
them,  and  also  by  some  adventurers  whom  they 
had  enlisted  in  their  cause,  introduced  themselves 
into  Agnani.  On  the  seventh  of  September,  1303, 
at  day-break,  the  inhabitants  leagued  with  the  con- 
spirators and  took  the  Pope's  palace  by  assault.  The 
doors  of  his  chamber  were  then  forced. 

"  The  pontiff  was  seated  upon  a  throne,  bearing 
on  his  shoulders  the  mantle  of  St.  Peter ;  on  his 
head  the  tiara,  ornamented  with  two  crowns,  symbol 
of  the  two  powers  ;  and  holding  in  his  hands  the  Cross 
and  the  Keys. 

"  Nogaret  was  taken  by  surprise.  He  approach- 
ed Boniface  respectfully,  avowe'd  his  mission,  and 
desired  him  to  convoke  a  general  council  at  Lyons. 
'  I  shall  console  myself,'  replied  Boniface, '  with  the 
reflection  that  I  am  condemned  by  Patarins.'  The 
grand-father  of  Nogaret  had  been  a  Patarin,  i.  e. 
one  of  the  Albigenses,  and  was   burned  alive  as  a 


•  He  had  tsiken  away  the  Cardinal's  hat  from  two  brothers  of 
this  family.'     ' 


310  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

heretic.  *  Will  you  lay  down  your  tiara  V  demanded 
Colonna.  '  Here  is  my  head,'  said  Boniface ;  '  I 
will  die  in  the  chair  where  God  has  seated  me.' 

"  After  this  proud  reply  to  Colonna,  Boniface  com- 
menced a  tirade  of  abuse  against  Philip,  when 
Colonna  struck  the  Pope  and  would  have  plunged  a 
dagger  in  his  breast  if  Nogaret  had  not  restrained 
him.  '  Base  Pope  !'  cried  Colonna;  *  consider  this 
kindness  as  the  act  of  the  King  of  France,  who 
guards  you  by  Nogaret  and  thus  defends  you  from 
your  enemies.' 

"  Boniface,  fearing  poison,  refused  all  food,  A 
poor  woman  fed  him  for  three  days  on  a  little  bread 
and  four  eggs.  After  this,  the  people,  with  their 
usual  fickleness  of  purpose,  delivered  the  pontiff 
from  the  hands  of  his  captors  and  he  set  out  for 
Rome,  where  he  died  of  a  nervous  fever  on  the 
eleventh  of  October,  X303,  Some  authors  assert 
that,  after  having  devoured  his  fingers,  he  dashed 
his  bead  against  the  wall,* 


*  In  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1303,  on  the  eve  of  the  nativity  of 
the  holy  Virgin  Mary,  in  the  month  of  September,  while  Boni- 
face was  residing  with  his  court  at  Agnani,  —  his  country 
and  natal  city,—  believing  himself  to  be  more  secure  amid  his 
own  people,  he  was  betrayed  and  held  prisoner  by  some  of  his 
guilty  servants,  His  treasures  and  those  of  the  Church  were 
pillaged  and  carried  away,  not  without  great  shame  to  the 
Church.  The  cardinals,  trembling  for  themselves,  abandoned 
him  and  fled,  with  the  exception  of  two,  the  lord  Peter,  a  Spanish 


THE   FRENCH   MONARCHY,  311 

The  people  bestowed  on  him  this  epitaph  :  "  Here 
lies  one  who  entered  into  the  pontificate  Hke  a  fox, 
reigned  like  a  lion  and  died  like  a  dog." 

But  two  centuries  had  elapsed  since  Gregory  V. 
excommunicated  Robert ;  and  now  Philip  IV.,  in 
turn,  deposed  Boniface  VIII.  Gregory  VII.,  placed 
equidistantly  between  them,  was  the  culminating 
point  of  Papacy.  Until  his  accession,  the  power  of 
the  Popes  was  constantly  increasing;  and  afterward, 
it  steadily  diminished. 

We  proceed,  now,  to  the  fall  of  the  Templars. 

"  In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1307,"  says  the   author 


bishop,  and  the  lord  Nicolas,  bishop  of  Ostia,  The  author  of 
this  arrest  and  this  crime  was  Guillaume  No^aret  de  St.  Felix 
of  the  diocese  of  Toulouse;  and  his  accomplices  were  the  Co- 
loiina,  from  two  of  whom  the  Pope  had  formerly  taken  the  car- 
dinal's hat.  Thus,  outrag;e,  fear  and  grief  suddenly  overwhelmed 
that  Boniface  who  had  made  Kings,  pontiffs,  monks  and  the 
people  to  tremble  terribly.  He  was  avaricious  of  gold  to  ex- 
cess ;  and  he  lost  his  treasures  that,  by  his  example,  pi-elates  in 
power  might  learn  to  govern  the  clergy  and  people  with  humility, 
and  lead  them  like  a  flock  with  all  carefulness,  and  seek  to  be 
loved  rather  than  feared.  Thirty  days  after  his  arrest,  trans- 
ported from  Agnani  to  Rome,  this  pontiff,  taken  from  a  court, 
was  placed  on  abed  of  pain  and  bitterness  and  died  at  Rome 
in  agony  of  spirit  on  the  eleventh  day  of  October.  The  day 
following,  he  was  buried  in  a  tomb  that  he  had  prepared  for 
himself  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord, 
1303,  and  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  pontificate. —  Des  gestes  glo- 
rieuxdes  Franqais. 


312  THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

of  the  Gestes  glorieux  des  Fran^ais,  "  there  happen- 
ed a  great  event,  an  amazing  event,  which  should  be 
transmitted  to  posterity  by  writing.  On  the  festival 
of  the  holy  Confessor  Edward,  the  Templars, 
throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  kingdom,  were, 
by  order  of  the  King  and  his  council,  arrested,  with 
the  exception  of  some  secretaries  and  clerks  of  the 
order.  All  were  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  this  pro- 
ceeding, and  were  truly  amazed  that  an  order  so 
ancient  as  that  of  the  Templars,*  and  one  so  favored 
by  the  Romish  Church,  should  thus  suddenly  have 
fallen."t 

The  crimes  which  served  as  a  foundation  for  their 
impeachment  were  these  : 


♦  It  was  founded  in  1118. 

t  The  author  of  the  continuation  of  Nangis  thus  relates  the 
same  Tacts  :  "  About  the  time  of  Pentecost,  Philip,  King  of 
France,  repaired  to  Poictiers  to  hold  an  interview  with  Pope 
Clement  V.  There,'  it  is  said,  many  important  events  were 
deliberated  and  determined  on  by  him  and  the  cardinals,  and 
especially  the  arrest  of  the  Templars,  as  the  event  that  follow- 
ed will  attest.  The  Pope  then  expressly  commanded  the  Grand 
Masters  of  the  Temple  and  the  Hospital  who  were  beyond  the 
seas,  to  leave  all  things  else  and  beat  Poictiers  within  a  speci- 
fied time,  to  appear  before  him.  The  Grand  Master  of  the 
Temple  obeyed  this  order;  but  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Hospi- 
tal, arrested  in  his  progress,  at  Rhodes,  by  the  Saracens  who  had 
seized  on  this  island,  could  not  appear  at  the  stated  time,  and 
legitimately  excused  himself  by  his  envoys.  At  length,  at  the 
end  of  some  months,  having  reconquered  the  island  by  force 
of  arms,  he  hastened  to  obey  the  summons  of  the  Pope." 


THE  FRENCH    MONARCHY.  313 

"In  the  first  place — abominable  thing!"  —  says 
the  author  of  the  continuation  of  Nangis,  "  upon  the 
command  of  the  Master — infamous  to  relate  ! — they 
kissed  each  other  on  the  posterior  parts.  Besides, 
they  spat  on  the  image  of  the  crucifix,  trod  it  under 
foot,  and  idolatrously  worshipped  in  secret  the  head 
of  an  idol  with  the  greatest  veneration.  When  their 
priests  celebrated  mass,  they  in  no  wise  uttered  the 
words  of  consecration  ;  and  although  they  vowed  to 
lead  a  life,  of  chastity,  they  nevertheless  paid  little 
regard  to  their  oath."* 


*  The  order  of  the  Templars,  which  was  thought  to  be 
extinct,  appears  to  have  been  preserved  until  our  day  with- 
out the  cessation  of  their  conventual  assemblies,  and  without 
■  an  interruption  of  the  legal  and  legitimate  succession  of  Grand 
Masters  from  Jacques  de  Molay.  On  the  contrary,  in  this  suc- 
cession will  be  found,  if  we  may  credit  the  testimony  of  the 
modern  Templars,  the  names  of  men  who  enjoyed  the  venera- 
tion of  their  contemporaries. 

With  regard  to  the  crimes  cited  above,  the  author  recently 
interrogated  a  modern  Templar  on  the  possibility  of  their  hav- 
ing been  committed;  and  his  answer,  if  not  decisive,  is  at  least 
plausible  :  "  The  order  of  Templars  had  its  ordeals  like 
the  order  of  Free  Masons  ;  but  its  ordeals  were  religious  and 
moral,  instead  of  being  physical.  The  neophyte  received  the 
injunction,  under  penalty  of  death,  to  spit  upon  Christ,  to  adore 
the  head  of  an  idol,  etc.  etc.  If,  in  his  fright,  he  complied,  he  was 
declared  unworthy  and  expelled  :  if,  on  the  contrary,  he  main- 
tained his  purity  and  integrity,  he  was  admitted  a  member  of 
the  order.  This  will  explain  the  evidence  brought  against  the 
27 


314  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

On  the  tenth  of  May,  1310,  after  having  endured 
three  years'  imprisonment  and  tortures  ordinary  and 
extraordinary,  fifty-four  Templars,  condemned  on  their 
own  confession,  were  burned  without  the  walls  of  Paris 
in  a  field  near  an  abbey  of  nuns  called  St.  Anthony. 
Some  days  after,  four  other  Templars,  and  still  later 
nine  more,  were  condemned  for  the  same  cause  and 
in  the  same  manner  by  the  arch-bishop  of  Rheims 
and  his  suffragans,  and  delivered  up  to  the  secular 
arm  to  be  burned.  "  And,  what  is  strange,"  says 
the  author  of  the  chronicle  whence  we  draw  our 
details,  "  every  one  retracted  absolutely  the  con- 
fession he  had  individually  made  during  the  course 
of  the  trial,  giving  no  other  reason  for  the  confession 
than  the  severity  and  dread  of  the  tortures." 

Four  years  after  this,  on  the  fifteenth  of  March, 
1314,*  Jacques    de    Molay,   Grand  Master    of  the. 
Temple  and  Guy,  Dauphin   of  Auvergne,  prior  of 
Normandy,  were  burned  on  the  Isle  auxJuifs,  Paris, 


Templars.  Those  applicants  who  had  not  the  firmness  to 
undergo  the  initiation,  related  that  as  an  act  of  faith,  which  in 
truth  was  only  a  moral. ordeal." 

*  Doubts  have  arisen  concerning  the  accuracy  of  this  date. 
The.  author  has  had  recourse  to  the  tradition  of  the  Templars 
themselves,  and  the  following  is  the  result  of  his  research. 
The  execution  took  place  on  the  29th  Cedar,  the  year  of  the 
order  196,  that  is  to  say,  the  last  day  of  the  lunar  year,  1314: 
therefore,  the  golden  number  of  the  year  1314  being  4,  the  epact 
3,  the  29th  Cedar  corresponds  to  the  15th  March,  1314. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  315 

nearly  on  the  spot  where  the  statue  of  Henry  IV. 
now  stands.  The  execution  took  place  after  vespers, 
or,  in  other  words,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

The  following  account  of  their  death  is  given  by 
an  historian  of  that  day  : 

"  The  Grand  Master  of  the  Temple  and  three 
other  Templars,  viz.,  the  Visiter  of  the  order  in 
France  and  the  Masters  of  Aquitania  and  Normandy, 
on  whom  the  Pope  had  reserved  to  himself  the  right 
of  passing  definitive  sentence  —  avowed  openly  and 
publicly  the  crimes  of  which  they  were  accused  in 
presence  of  the  archbishop  of  Sens  and  some  other 
prelates  and  men  learned  in  canonical  and  divine 
law,  who  were  called  together  for  this  especial  pur- 
pose (by  order  of  the  Pope)  by  the  bishop  of  Albano 
and  two  other  cardinal-legates,  to  whom  was  com- 
municated the  opinion  of  the  council.  As  the  accu- 
sed persisted  in  their  declarations,  and  appeared 
determined  to  persevere  in  them  to  the  end,  the 
assembly,  after  a  mature  deliberation  on  the  opinions 
of  the  said  council,  did,  on  the  Monday  after  the  festi- 
val of  St.  Gregory,  in  the  public  square  in  front  of 
the  church  of  Paris,  condemn  them  to  perpetual 
seclusion.  The  cardinals  now  supposed  that  this 
matter  was  definitively  settled ;  when,  suddenly,  two 
of  the  Templars,  viz.,  the  Grand  Master,*  and  the 

*  Jacques  de  Molay. 


316  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Grand  Prior  of  Normandy*  obstinately  defended 
themselves  against  a  cardinal  who  was  spokesman 
and  against  the  archbishop  of  Sens ;  and,  without 
any  reservation,  denied  all  that  they  had  previously 
avowed,  which  caused  great  surprise  to  many. 
Upon  this,  the  cardinals  delivered  them  into  the 
hands  of  the  Prevost  of  Paris,  then  present,  with  the 
sole  intention  that  he  should  have  them  in  safe- 
keeping until  the  following  day,  when  they,  the  car- 
dinals, might  more  fully  deliberate  upon  the  case. 
But  as  soon  as  the  rumor  of  these  things  came  to  the 
ear  of  the  King,  who  was  then  in  the  Palais  Royal,t 
he,  consulting  only  his  own  advisers,  prudently  deci- 
ded to  deliver  these  two  Templars  to  the  flames  in 
the  evening  of  the  same  day,  on  a  little  island  of  the 
Seine  situated  between  the  royal  garden  and  the 
church  of  the  Freres  Ermites.  They  bore  their 
punishment  with  gieat  calmness  and  indifference  ; 
and  indeed  their  firmness  and  their  last  denials  were 
the  cause  of  surprise  and  bewilderment  to  all  the 
witnesses.  The  other  two  Templars  were  incarce- 
rated according  to  their  sentence." 

But  this  narration  does  not  mention  what  in  fact 
occurred;  that  the  two  Templars,  previous  to  their 
execution,  from  being  the  accused,  became  the  accu- 
sers, and  cited  their  judges,  Philip  and  Clement,  to 


*  Guy,  Dauphin  of  Auvergne. 
t  Le  Palais  de  Justice. 


THE    FUENCH    MONARCHY.  317 

appear,  within  the  year,  before  the  throne  of  God  to 
..  wash  their  double  crowns  of  this  double  murder;  and 
that  the  two  individuals,  so  summoned,  did  in  fact 
present  themselves  within  the  prescribed  time  before 
the  tribunal  of  eternity. 

In  speaking  of  events  that  took  place  during  the 
reign  of  Philip  the  Fair,  we  should  have  said,  in  re- 
gard to  the  parliament  and  the  Tiers-Etat,  that  the 
former  was  settled  and  the  latter,  resuscitated. 

The  parliament  was  settled  —  for  it  had  been  in 
existence  since  the  year  1000 ;  it  succeeded  to  the 
placita  of  Gregoire  de  Tours,  and  to  the  viallcum  im,- 
peratoris  of  Charlemagne.  It  had,  however,  been 
itinerant :  it  had  been  carried  wherever  there  was  a 
necessity  for  its  presence.  Philip  the  Fair  rendered 
it  stationary  and  ordained  that  it  should  hold  two 
sittings  during  the  year.  It  was  composed  of  coun- 
sellor-judges taken  from  the  noblesse  and  the  clergy, 
and  of  counsellor-reporters  drawn  from  the  class  of 
the  burgesses  and  clerks.  Charles  VII.,  who  regu- 
lated the  Council  of  State,  created  during  the  in- 
sanity of  his  father,  restricted  the  parliament  to  the 
exercise  of  purely  judicial  functions.  But  the  con- 
vocation of  the  three  orders,  having  by  degrees  fallen 
into  desuetude,  or,  at  most,  taking  place  only  at  long 
intervals,  the  people,  who  were  not  represented  by 
any  one,  became  accustomed  to  consider  the  parlia- 
ment as  their  representative.  The  parliament,  by 
its  custom  of  registering  imposts,  acquired  the  right 
27* 


318  THE   FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

of  Terifying  the  will  of  the  Kings.  This  right  ac- 
quired, it  next  arrogated  that  of  censuring  the  royal 
will ;  it  enacted  a  prominent  part  during  the  time  of 
die  Fronde;  was  overshadowed  during  the  absolute 
monarchy  of  Louis  XIV.,  suppressed  under  Louis 
XV.,  re-established  under  Louis  XVI. ;  and,  from 
the  last  act  of  its  power,  emanated  the  call  of  the 
States-general.* 

We  said  that  the  Tiers-Etat  was  resuscitated,  and 
we  now  explain  the  sense  in  which  the  word  is  thus 
used. 

Under  the  first  and  second  races,  as  we  have  be- 
fore remarked,  the  soldiers  —  and  let  it  not  be  for- 
gotten that  these  soldiers  were  the  conquerors  — 
united  themselves  in  an  assembly  called  the  Champ- 
de-Mars,  or  Champ-de-Mai,  and  gave  their  votes  on 
the  election  of  the  sovereigns  and  the  acceptance  of 
the  laws.  Under  Hlot-her  II.,  the  clergy  gained 
great  importance,  by  means  of  waste  lands  granted 
to  them,  and  this  importance  so  increased  that,  a 
hundred  years  later,  that  is  about  the  year  750,  they 
obtained  the  privilege  of  sending  representatives  to 
this  assembly.  In  conformity  to  the  opinion  we 
have  expressed,  that  the  clergy  represented  the  peo- 
ple—  and,  at  this  period,  the  conquered  people  — 
we  see,  by  a  first  and  almost  imperceptible  reaction, 
that  this  conquered  people  took  part  in  the  election 

*  Chateaubriand. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  319 

of  the  Kings  who  were  to  govern  them,  and  in  the 
discussion  of  the  laws  by  which  they  were  to  be 
ruled.  Soon  after,  finding  a  powerful  support  in 
their  elected  chief,  in  their  crowned  representative, 
in  their  Pope  —  the  peer  of  the  sovereign  —  the 
National  Party  formed  itself:  obtained  its  first  King 
in  Eudes  :  its  second,  in  Raoul :  and  consolidated  its 
triumph  by  the  election  of  Hugh  Capet.  Until  this 
time,  there  had  been  no  people,  properly  so  called  ; 
but  the  clergy,  representing  the  people. 

The  Crusades  now  approached.  Alexander  III. 
issued  a  proclamation  that  every  Christian  was  a  free- 
man. Communes  were  organized.  They  struggled 
—  triumphed  —  obtained  their  charters.  A  new  or- 
der claimed  footing  on  the  social  ladder  ;  and  when 
questioned  concerning  its  name,  declared  itself,  The 
People. 

From  this  time,  the  clergy — composed,  till  then, 
of  two  elements,  the  secular  and  ecclesiastic — pre- 
served the  latter  only.     The  hive  had  swarmed. 

From  this  time,  instead  of  two  orders  in  the  king- 
dom,—  the  noblesse  and  the  clergy — there  were 
three ;  the  noblesse,  the  clergy,  and  the  people. 

From  this  time,  the  clergy,  like  a  woman  delivered 
of  her  child,  ceased  to  carry  in  its  womb  the  popular 
heir;  and,  from  being  a  protector,  became  an  egotist : 
separated  from  the  democratic  principle  to  which  it 
owed  its  power,  it  lost  one  half  of  its  strength :  de- 
prived of  the  people  who  gave  it  its  purity,  it  be- 


320  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.    . 

came  doubly  corrupt :  and  it  produced^  severally,  a 
perfect  type  of  its  strength,  its  weakness  and  its 
corruption,  in  Gregory  VII.,  Boniface  VIII.,  and 
Alexander  Borgia. 

Nevertheless,  the  clergy,  such  as  it  was,  still  pos- 
sessed sufficient  power  to  maintain  its  own  repre- 
sentation in  the  monarchy.  Then,  the  three  orders 
w^ere  constituted ;  and  one  of  their  elements  was  the 
resuscitation  of  the  Tiers-Etat,  represented  under  the 
first  and  second  races  by  the  clergy ;  and,  under  the 
third,  by  itself. 

It  may  be  objected  that  we  return  often,  and  with 
prolixity,  to  this  subject:  but  the  opinions  we  enter- 
tain and  advance  clash  with  so  many  received  opin- 
ions, that  we  desire,  at  least,  to  be  clearly  understood, 
and  to  explain  what  are  our  own  convictions,  even, 
should  we  fail  to  transfer  them  to  our  readers. 

The  formation  of  the  republics  of  Flanders*  and 
Switzerland  is  connected  with  our  history  only  in 
the  way  of  episode :  and  as  these  two  events  are 
universally  known,  we  shall  content  ourselves  with 
designating  their  respective  dates. 

Philip  the  Fair  had  scarcely  conquered  Flanders, 


*  The  league  of  the  Hanseatic  towns  is  posterior,  by  more 
than  fifty  years,  to  the  period  we  now  speak  of,  and  did  not 
take  effect  until  the  reign  of  King  John.  But  as  the  wars  of 
Flanders  were  a  prelude  to  this  league,  we  date  its  origin  at 
1302,  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Courtray.. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY,  321 

when  troubles  arose  on  all  sides.  Assassinations  of 
the  French  took  place  in  many  towns,  similar  to  the 
massacre  at  Palermo :  that  of  Bruges  is  the  most 
noted. 

Philip  sent  against  the  Flemings  an  army  of  forty 
thousand  men,  commanded  by  his  brother  Robert, 
Count  d'Artois,  and  Raoul  de  Nesle,  Constable  of 
France.  The  Flemings  advanced  to  meet  this  force 
as  far  as  the  village  of  Groemingue,  near  Courtray. 
They  were  commanded  by  Peter  Le  Roy,*  a  weaver, 
who  equipped  himself  as  a  knight  for  the  occasion. 
The  peasant  and  the  burgher  now  fought  the  noble ; 
and  the  event  proved  that  valor  was  not  the  exclu- 
sive prerogative  of  the  knights.  Twelve  thousand 
French  gentlemen  remained  upon  the  field  ;t  among 
whom  were  Robert  d'Artois,  General  of  France ; 
Raoul  de  Nesle,  Constable  of  France ;  Jacques  de 
Ch^tillon,  Governor  of  Flanders  j  John,  King  of 
Majorca;  Godfrey  de  Brabant  and  his  son  j  the 
Counts  d'Eu,  de  la  Marche,  de  Dampmartin,  and  de 
Tancarville.  Four  thousand  golden  spurs  were 
taken  from  four  thousand  knights  by  the  good  people 


♦  A  master-weaver,  one-eyed,  deformed,  malicious,  and  bab- 
bling, named  Peter,  was  one  of  their  principal  colonels,  accom- 
panied by  his  footmen ;  and  the  other  chief  was  a  butcher  of 
the  same  calibre  as  this  tribune.  —  Jean  de  Serre. 

t  Jean  de  Serre. 


322  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

of  Flanders  *  This  battle  look  place  in  July,  1302; 
fifty-nine  years  later,  a  league  of  sixty  cities  formed 
the  Hanseatic  republic. 

In  the  night  of  the  seventeenth  of  October,  1307, 
thirty  men  assembled  in  the  little  plain  of  Grutly, 
near  the  southern  part  of  Lake  Lucerne.  Ten 
were  from  the  canton  of  Uri ;  ten  from  the  canton 
of  Schweitz  ;  ten  from  the  canton  of  Underwalden. 
There,  in  the  face  of  heaven,  they  svv^ore  to  achieve 
the  liberty  of  Switzerland  and  destroy  tlie  life  of  her 
tyrants  :  and,  on  the  first  of  January,  1308,  Gessler 
was  dead  and  Switzerland  free. 

Philip  the  Summoned  died  toward  the  close  of  the 
year  1314,  of  a  disease  which  his  physicians  could 
not  discover  ;t  and  this  fact  countenanced  the  popu- 
lar superstition  that  his  death  was  a  special  judgment 
from  God.     Clement  V.  was  already  dead.| 


*  Chateadbriand. 

t  Philip,  King  of  France,  was  afflicted  by  a  disease  the  nature 
of  which,  unknown  to  his  physicians,  was  to  them  and  to  many 
others  the  cause  of  great  surprise  and  wonder :  the  more 
especially  as  his  pulse  did  not  at  any  time  announce  that  he 
was  ill  or  in  danger  of  dying.  —  Continuation  of  Nangis. 

*  At  the  time  of  Easter,  1314,  in  the  city  of  Avignon,  Pope 
Clement  went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  etc.  etc. — Guillapme  de 
Nangis. —  The  date  of  Pope  Clement's  death  causes  us  to 
doubt  whether  the  date  of  the  punishment  of  the  Templars  is 
correct.  Indeed,  if  the  Templars  were  burned  on  the  fifteenth 
of  Mar.h,  1314,  Pope  Clement,  dying  at  Easter,  could  have 
taken  no  part  in  their  condemnation. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  323 

Philip  the  Fair  was  the  first  who  took  the  title  of 
King  of  France  and  Navarre.  This  latter  kingdom 
was  brought  to  him,  in  dowry,  by  his  wife  Jeanne, 
His  three  sons  succeeded  him  one  after  another 
under  the  titles,  severally,  of  Louis  X.  surnamed, 
Hutin  ;  Philip  V.  surnamed,  the  Long;  and  Charles 
IV.  surnamed,  the  Fair.  "  This  succession  of  three 
brothers,"  says  Chateaubriand,  "  occurs  twice  again 
in  our  history  and,  in  both  instances,  disastrously : 
Francis  II.,  Charles  IX.,.  Henry  HI, :  Louis  XVI., 
Louis  XVIIL,  Charles  X. 

Louis  X.  was  the  first  who  ascended  the  throne  ; 
and' although  his  reign  lasted  but  sixteen  months, 
it  is  celebrated  by  three  conspicuous  events  : — 

The  triple  suit  for  adultery  instituted  by  Louis  and 
his  two  brothei"s  against  his  wife  and  his  two  sisters- 
in-law  : 

The  death  of  Enguerrand  de  Marigny  :  and. 

The  letter  of  enfranchisement  of  the  people. 

The  following  are,  essentially,  the  historical  facts 
of  these  three  events. 

Under  the  reign  of  Philip  the  Fair,  and  during  the 
absence  of  Louis  who  was  in  Navarre,  the  three 
sisters,  Blanche,  Marguerite  and  Jeanne,  met  almost 
every  evening  in  the  hotel  de  Nesle  where  their 
mother-in-law  Jeanne,*    wife    of  Philip  the    Fair, 


*  There  was  a  queen,  residing  at  the  hotel  de  Nesle,  who 
kept  a  watch  for  all  who  passed  by  ;  and  those  who  pleased  her 


324  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

resided.  In  this  tower,  laved  by  the  Seine,  every- 
thing was  prepared  for  an  orgie  in  which  three  men 
were  to  participate.  The  night  was  passed  in  revels 
and  debauchery;  and  when  the  day  came,  the  royal 
courtezans  retired  to  an  adjoining  room,  and  their 
attendants  seized  the  men  and  threw  them  into  the 
river. 

In  order  that  these  murders  might  be  more  safely 
and  surely  committed,  the  victims  were  iirst  sewed 
up  in  sacks.  Nevertheless,  a  young  student,  named 
Jean  Buridan,  escaped  the  fate  intended  for  him  and 
became  famous  by  the  publication  of  this  thesis :  Re- 
ginam  interficere  nolite  timer e;    honum   esse.      This 


most,  of  whatever  condition  of  men  tliey  might  be,  were  request- 
ed to  enter  the  hotel ;  and  after  she  had  obtained  from  them 
what  she  desired,  she  caused  them  to  be  precipitated  from  the 
tower  into  the  water. —  Brantome  ;  Dames  galantes. 

Robert  Gaguin,  a  writer  of  the  fifteenth  century,  while  deny- 
ing that  these  facts,  which  were  for  a  time  charged  upon  Jeanne, 
were  justly  imputed  to  that  princess,  confirms  the  truth  of  the 
quotation  just  made  from  BrAntome,  by  attributing  the  crimes 
to  the  wives  of  the  king's  three  sons.  "  These  disorders,"  says 
he,  "gave  rise  to  a  tradition  injurious  to  the  memory  of  Jeanne 
of  Navarre.  According  to  this  tradition,  this  princess  took 
several  students  to  her  couch ;  and  that  no  trace  might  remain  of 
the  debauch,  she  had  them  thrown  from  the  windo\v  of  her  cham- 
ber into  the  Seine.  One  alone,  named  Jean  Buridan,  had  the 
good  fortune  to  escape.  He  afterward  published  this  sophism: 
Fear  not  to  kill  a  queen :  it  is  good.  (  Reginam  interficere  nolite 
timere :  bonum  esse.)"^ —  Compeiidivm  Roherti  Gaguini. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  325 

was  all  the  revenge  he  could  take  upon  the  royal 
murderess.  The  facts  seem  to  have  been  known 
and  admitted  in  the  fifteenth  century,  since  Villon 
wrote,  in  his  ballad  of  olden  times, 

.     .  ' la  reine 

dui  commanda  que  Buridan 
Fut  jete  en  un  sac  en  Seine. 

The  return  of  Louis  put  an  end  to  the  revels  of 
the  tower.  But  permanent  lovers  succeeded  to  fugi- 
tive ones.  History  has  preserved  the  names  of  those 
who  intrigued  with  Marguerite,  wife  of  Louis  X., 
and  Blanche,  wife  of  Charles  IV.  They  were  two 
brothers  named  Philip  and  Walter  d'Aulnay;  who, 
after  the  discovery  of  their  crime,  were  condemned, 
flayed  alive,  drawn  at  the  tail  of  a  horse  over  the 
newly-mown  meadow  of  Maubuisson,  mutilated,  de- 
capitated, and  finally  suspended  on  a  gibbet  by  the 
shoulders  and  joints  of  the  arms.* 

Marguerite  and  Blanche  were  immured  in  the 
Chateau-Gaillard  ;  and  Jeanne,  at  Dourdan. 

The  heads  of  the  first  two  were  shaven  :  and 
Marguerite  was  afterward  strangled,  some  say  with 
a  napkin,  others,  with  her  winding-sheet,  and  buried 
at  Vernon  in  the  church  of  the  Freres-Mineurs  (Cor- 
deliers.) 


*   GUILLAUME  DE  NaNGIS. 
28 


326  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

The  trial  of  Marigny,  like  that  of  the  Templars, 
to  which  this  minister  was  no  stranger,  remains  a 
mystery  between  tlie  tomb  of  the  judge  and  the 
tomb  of  the  victim.  A  contemporary  writer  gives  the 
following  account  of  his  sentence  and  death. 

""Enguerrand  de  Marigny,  a  knight  of  very  agreea- 
ble manners;  prudent,  wise  and  skilful;  was  estab- 
lished in  great  authority  and  power  over  the  nation, 
and  was  the  principal  and  especial  adviser  of  the  late 
Philip,  King  of  France.  Having  become,  so  to 
speak,  more  than  mayor  of  the  palace,  he  was  at  the 
head  of  the  government  of  the  whole  kingdom.  It 
was  he  who  transacted  all  affairs  of  difficulty  ;  and 
every  one  obeyed  his  slightest  as  well  as  his  most 
authoritative  requests.  In  the  Temple,  at  Paris,  he 
was  most  shamefully  accused,  in  presence  of  King 
Louis,  of  execrable  crimes  by  Charles,  Count  de 
Valois,  uncle  of  King  Louis,  and  by  some  others  insti- 
gated thereto  by  the  common  people,  who  were  ex- 
cited against  him  on  account  of  the  debasing  of  the 
currency,  and  of  the  numerous  extortions  with 
which  they  had  been  oppressed  during  the  reign  of 
the  late  King  Philip  and  which  were  attributed  to 
Marigny's  evil  counsels. 

"  Although  the  said  knight  frequently,  and  with 
much  urgency,  demanded  a  hearing  in  his  own 
vindication,  he,  nevertheless,  could  not  obtain  it, 
hindered  as  he  was  by  the  power  of  the  said  Count 
de  Valois.     The  wife    and   sisters   of  Enguerrand 


THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY.  327 

were  imprisoned  ;  and  at  length  Enguerrand  him- 
self, r.ondemned  in  presenc^e  of  the  knights,  was 
hanged  at  Paris  on  the  thieves'  gallows.*  He  how- 
ever made  no  confessions  of  the  sorceries  imputed 
to  him;  and  said,  only,  that  others  with  him  had  been 
the  authors  of  the  exactions  and  of  the  debasing  of 
the  coin  :  that  he  had  not  been  allowed  to  make  a 
defence,  notwithstanding  his  earnest  solicitations  and 
the  promise  given  him  at  the  commencement  of  the 
proceedings.  This  is  why  his  execution,  of  which 
many  people  knew  not  the  cause,  was  a  subject  of 
great  surprise  and  amazement." 

Some  time  before  his   death,  Louis  X.  published 
'     letters    of    enfranchisement    for   the   people.     "We 
quote  one  of  them  : 

"  Louis  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  France  and 
NavaiTe,  etc.  etc. 

"  Whereas,  according  to  the  law  of  nature,  every 
one  of  right  should  be  born  free ;  yet,  by  certain 
usages  or  customs,  which  from  great  antiquity  have 
been  introduced  and  until  now  retained  in  our  king- 


*  Montfaucon  has  brought  such  misfortune  to  those  who 
have  meddled  with  it,  that  the  first  who  caused  _it  to  be  built 
Cwho  was  Enguerrand  de  Marigny)  was  hanged  there:  and 
since,  having  been  repaired  by  the  command  of  one  named 
Pierre  Rcmy  (director  of  the  finances,  under  Charles  the  Fair,) 
he  was  himself  hanged  there  under  Fhilip  de  Valois. 

(Pasquier,  Livre  VIII.  chap,  entitled  "  More  unfortunate 
than  the  wood  of  which  the  gibbet  was  made.") 


328  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

dom,  and  peradventure,  for  the  misdeeds  of  their 
predecessors,  many  of  our  common  people  have 
fallen  into  bonds  of  servitude  and  of  untoward  situa- 
tions,—  which  greatly  displeases  us  :  We,  consider- 
ing that  our  kingdom  is  named  and  known  as  the 
kingdom  of  the  Franks,  and  being  willing  that  the 
reality  of  the  thing  should  accord  with  its  name,  and 
that,  through  us,  the  condition  of  the  people  should 
improve  on  the  advent  of  our  new  goveniment,  have 
by  deliberation  of  our  great  council,  ordained,  and 
do  ordain  that,  generally,  throughout  our  kingdom, 
so  far  as  it  can  possibly  depend  upon  us  and  our  suc- 
cessors, such  servitude  shall  be  exchanged  for  free- 
dom ;  and  that  to  all  those  who  by  origin,  or  ancient 
custom,  or  recently  by  marriage,  or  by  residence  in 
situations  of  servile  rank,  are  fallen  or  may  fall  into 
bonds  of  servitude,  freedom  be  given  on  suitable 
conditions." 

On  the  sixteenth  of  July,  1316,  Louis  died  at  his 
royal  mansion  in  the  wood  of  Vincennes,  leaving  his 
queen,  Clemence,  about  to  become  a  mother ;  and 
having  had  by  his  first  wife,  Marguerite,  but  one 
daughter,  named  Jeanne. 

Philip,  his  brother,  on  receiving  intelligence  of 
this  event,  returned  hastily  to  Paris  from  Avignon, 
whither  he  had  gone  to  accelerate  the  election  of 
the  Pope.  He  immediately  assembled  the  parlia- 
ment, and  it  was  by  them  determixied  that  he  should 
protect  and  govern   the   kingdom  of  France   and 


THE   FRENCH    MONARCHY.  329 

Navarre  during  eighteen  years,  even  in  case  queen 
Clemence  gave  birth  to  a  male  child.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  enactment,  he  caused  a  signet  to  be 
made  on  which  was  engraven,  "Philip,  son  of  the 
King  of  the  French,  regent  of  the  kingdoms  of 
France  and  Navarre." 

On  the  fifteenth  of  November  following,  the  queen 
was  delivered,  at  the  Louvre,  of  a  son,  who  was 
named  John  and  who  died  on  the  twentieth  of  the 
same  month.  In  all  the  catalogues  of  Kings,  this 
sovereign  of  five  days  has  been  omitted. 

"  The  day  after  his  death,  he  was  buried  in  the 
church  of  St.  Denis  at  the  feet  of  his  father,  by  the 
lord  Philip,  who  now  held  legitimately  the  rank  of 
King  of  France  and  Navarre." 

Philip  V.  was  in  the  same  year  crowned  King  at 
Rheims,  with  Jeanne  his  wife,  in  presence  of  his 
uncles,  Charles  and  Louis,  and  of  the  peers  of  the 
realm,  wlvo,  however,  took  no  part  in  the  ceremony. 

The  reason  for  this  was,  that  a  party  had  been 
organized  in  favor  of  the  daughter  of  Louis  X.  by 
Marguerite  of  Burgundy.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy 
made  an  appeal  to  the  peers,  and  charged  the  pre- 
lates not  to  crown  Philip  until  they  had  deliberated 
on  the  rights  of  the  young  Jeanne  to  the  crown. 
Notwithstanding  this  appeal  and  prohibition,  the 
coronation  was  solemnized  and  the  gates  of  the  city 
were  closed  and  guarded  by  armed  men. 

Some  time  after,  an  assembly  was  convened  of 
2S* 


330  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

nobles,  men  of  influence,  prelates,  doctors  of  the 
University  and  burgesses.  They  approbated  the 
coronation  and  declared  unanimously  that  females 
should  not  inherit  the  crown  of  France.  Mutual 
friends  soon  reconciled  the  differences  between  the 
King  and  the  Duke  of  Burgundy.  Indeed,  the  latter 
espaused  the  eldest  daughter  of  Philip  and  concuiTed 
in  the  general  voice  which  acknowledged  him  to  be 
King. 

Jeanne,  the  disinherited  child  of  the  kingdom, 
married  Philip,  son  of  the  Count  d'Evreux ;  to 
whom  she  brought  Navarre  in  dowry.  This  king- 
dom, thus  severed  from  the  crown  of  France,  was  not 
re-united  to  it  until  brought  back  by  Henry  IV. 

Under  Philip  the  Long,  the  disturbances  occa- 
sioned by  the  shepherds  [Pastoureaux)  already  de- 
scribed in  the  reign  of  Louis  IX.  again  broke  forth. 
Like  their  predecessors,  these  bands  of  armed  peas- 
ants traversed  all  France,  committed  innumerable 
outrages  and  finally  disappeared.  "  Thus,"  says  the 
continuation  of  Nangis,  "  this  disorderly  expedition 
vanished  like  a  fog  :  because  that  which  is  intrinsi- 
cally worthless  can  never  long  appear  to  be  of  any 
value." 

These  troubles  were  succeeded,  in  1321,  by  others 
excited  by  the  lepers.*     A  rumor  obtained  currency 


*  We  have  already  said  that  the  unhappy  beings  who,  on  the 
return  of  the  Crusaders  were  seized  with  this  malady,  filled  the 
lazar-houses  to  which  Louis  VII.  left  a  legacy. 


THE    FRENCH  MONARCHV.  331 

that  tliey  had  poisoned  all  the  springs  and  wells 
in  Aquitania.  Many  were  arrested  and  confessed 
the  crime.  The  cause  of  its  being  committed  was 
thus  explained  in  a  letter  which  the  King  received 
from  the  lord  of  Parthenay. 

One  of  the  most  influential  of  the  lepers  confessed, 
at  the  stake,  that  a  Jew  had  urged  him  to  commit  the 
crime,  had  furnished  him  with  the  poison  and  given 
him  ten  livres  to  apply  it.  The  poison  was  compo- 
sed of  human  blood,  and  of  three  herbs  the  names  of 
which  he  would  not  reveal.  A  consecrated  wafer 
was  added  to  these  ingredients,  and,  when  dried, 
the  whole  was  reduced  to  a  powder.  After  this,  it 
was  enclosed  in  bags,  fastened  to  stones  and  thrown 
into  the  wells  or  springs.*  The  Jews,  taken  in  turn, 
and  questioned,  related  the  following  singular  story : 

"  The  King  of  Grenada,  disturbed  at  being  so  fre- 
quently vanquished  by  the  Christians,  and  unable 
to  revenge  himself  by  arms,  determined  to  obtain 
vengeance   by   means  of  treachery.     He  therefore 


*  We  have  also  seen  with  our  own  eyes  in  a  city  in  Poitoua 
female  leper,  who  passing  that  way,  and  fearing  to  be  arrested, 
threw  behind  her  a  parcel  tied  up  in  a  rag  which  was  immedi- 
ately taken  to  the  tribunal  of  justice.  In  it  was  found  the  head 
of  an  adder,  the  feet  of  a  toad  and  some  long  hairs,  mixed  in  a  sort 
of  very  black  and  fetid  liquid ;  so  that  it  was  as  disgusting  to  see 
as  to  smell.  All  this,  thrown  purposely  into  a  large  blazing 
fire,  would  not  burn:  a  manifest  proof  that  it  was  one  of  the 
most  virulent  of  poisons.  —  Contimiation  of  Nangis. 


332  THE    FRENCH   MONARCHY. 

called  together  the  Jews  of  his  kingdom  to  devise 
with  them  some  expedient  for  destroying  Christen- 
dom, and  promised  them  an  immense  reward  if  they 
would  invent  some  witchcraft  to  accomplish  this 
result.  The  Jews  replied  that  they  were  so  much 
distrusted  by  the  Christians  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  practise  any  charm  upon  them  personally  ; 
but  the  lepers  could  easily  be  employed  to  throw 
certain  poisons  into  their  springs  and  wells.  The 
King  of  Grenada  acceded  to  this  proposal ;  and  the 
Jews  conferred  with  the  lepers  who,  by  the  interven- 
tion of  the  devil,  were  so  misled  as  to  abjure  the 
Catholic  faith ;  to  powder  and  mingle  the  body 
of  Christ  with  these  moital  poisons  ;  and  to  under- 
take to  dispense  them  according  to  the  plan  propo- 
sed. The  principal  lepers  then  collected  themselves 
together  from  all  parts  of  Christendom  and  establish- 
ed four  general  assemblies,  to  which  each  noble  lazar- 
house  sent  its  representatives.  In  these  assemblies 
the  chiefs  set  forth  that  '  as  their  leprosy  caused  them 
to  appear,  in  the  sight  of  Christians,  vile,  abject  and 
unworthy  of  any  consideration,  they  might  well  be 
permitted  to  devise  a  plan  that  should  cause  the 
Christians  themselves  to  die  or  to  be  afflicted  with 
a  similar  disease  ;  so  that,  when  all  were  lepers,  no 
one  should  be  despised.'  This  project  was  approv- 
ed, and  every  one  applied  himself  to  its  execution. 
And  thus,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  Jews,  these 
poisons  were  scattered  abroad." 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  333 

The  King,  now  issued  an  edict,  declaring  that  all 
lepers,  convicted  of  joining  in  this  conspiracy,  should 
be  delivered  to  the  flames  :  that  those  who  knew  of 
the  conspiracy  and  had  not  divulged  it,  should  be 
perpetually  imprisoned  :  and  that  all  guilty  leprous 
females  who  were  pregnant  should  be  imprisoned 
until  their  accouchement,  and  immediately  afterward 
put  to  death. 

The  executions  followed  this  edict.  Many  Jews 
were  burned  in  Aquitania.  At  Chinon,  a  large  pit 
was  digged  in  the  earth  and  a  fire  was  kindled  within 
it,  where,  in  one  day,  one  hundred  and  sixty  Jews 
of  both  sexes  were  consumed.  "  Many  among  them, 
both  men  and  women,"  says  the  chi'onicle  that  fur- 
nishes these  details,  "  sang  as  if  they  were  about  to 
attend  a  wedding  and  jumped  gaily  into  the  pit. 
Many  widows  caused  their  own  children  to  be  thrown 
into  the  flames  lest  they  might  be  carried  away  and 
baptized  by  the  Christians." 

At  Vitri,  forty  Jews,  suspected  of  this  crime,  were 
confined  in  the  King's  prison.  They  were  certain  of 
their  doom,  but  determined  not  to  die  by  the  hands 
of  the  uncircumcised  and  agreed  that  one  of  their 
own  number  should  slay  the  rest.  By  a  unanimous 
choice  they  designated  for  this  last  and  terrible  office 
the  eldest  of  the  company  —  an  old  man  with  white 
beard,  whom  they  called  Saint,  on  account  of  his 
goodness,  and  Father,  on  account  of  his  age.  He, 
however,  would  not  undertake  to  fulfil  the  dreadful 


334  THE    FKENCH    MONARCHY. 

task,  unless  some  one  should  be  appointed  to  aid 
him.  Accordingly,  the  young  st  among  them,  a 
youth  of  sixteen,  was  chosen  as  his  assistant.  A 
knife  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  each  of  these  two, 
and  they  began  the  work  of  death  without  hesitation, 
although  among  the  victims  were  the  old  man's  sons 
and  the  young  man's  father.  When  all  were  de- 
stroyed but  the  two  executionei's,  they  stood  before 
each  other,  bathed  in  blood,  disputing  which  should 
kill  the  other.  At  length,  they  drew  lots  and  death 
fell  to  the  old  man.  He  then  blessed  the  youth, 
held  forth  his  neck  and  died.  The  youth  now  took 
from  the  slaughtered  bodies  all  the  gold  he  could 
find,  made  a  rope  of  their  clothes,  and  fastening  it  to 
a  bar  in  the  prison,  climbed  through  a  passage  that 
he  had  sawed  in  the  gratings,  and,  as  the  night  was 
dark,  let  himself  down  undiscovered.  When  he 
came  to  the  end  of  the  rope,  he  extended  his  feet  as 
far  as  possible  downward,  but  could  touch  nothing  — 
the  rope  was  too  short !  and  a  space  which  he  had 
no  means  of  estimating,  separated  him  from  the 
ground.  Too  much  exhausted  to  re-ascend,  he  was 
forced  to  let  go  his  hold,  and  fell  a  distance  of  twenty 
feet  to  the  earth ;  but  the  violence  of  the  fall  was  so 
much  increased  by  the  weight  of  the  gold  -which 
encumbered  him,  that  his  leg  was  broken. 

He  dragged  himself  about  a  quarter  of  a  league 
from  the  place  of  his  descent,  but  could  go  no  fur- 
ther ;  and  here,  in  the  morning,  he  was  discovered 


THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY,  335 

by  the  Christians.  Being  delivered  up  to  justice,  he 
made  a  full  confession  of  these  things,  and  was 
hanged  with  the  bodies  of  those  whom  he  had  slain. 

Philip  was  busied  with  the  cares  of  government 
when  he  fell  ill.  It  was  his  purpose  to  establish 
throughout  his  kingdom  a  uniform  measure  for  wine, 
grain  and  merchandise;  and  to  have  a  uniform  coin- 
age of  money.  This  last  project,  in  especial,  met 
with  lively  opposition  from  the  nobles,  the  prelates 
and  the  communes.  Meantime,  the  King's  disease 
made  slow  but  sure  progress.  He  lay  for  five  months 
on  a  bed  of  pain.  "  Some  doubted  if  it  were  not 
the  maledictions  of  the  people  —  on  account  of  the 
exactions  and  extortions,  till  then  unheard  of,  with 
which  he  overwhelmed  them — that  caused  him  to 
fall  ill."  At  length,  on  the  third  of  February,  1321, 
he  expired,  after  having  received  all  the  ecclesiastical 
sacraments  ;  and  Charles,  Count  dc  la  Marche,  his 
brother,  succeeded  him  without  any  dispute  or  oppo- 
sition* 

Charles  IV.,  after  the  condemnation  of  his  wife, 
Blanche,  for  adultery,  had  easily  obtained  a  decree  of 
divorce  from  the  holy  father.  He  then  espoused 
Mary  of  Luxembourg  ;t  but  she  died  shortly  after 
giving  untimely  birth  to  a  son  who  lived  but  a  few 


*  Continuation  of  Guillaume  de  Nangis. 
+  In  the  year  1322. 


336  THE    FRENCH  MONARCHY. 

days.  Two  years  aftei"ward,  he  married  Jeanne 
d'Evreux,  by  whom  he  had  no  male  children. 

From  the  commencement  of  his  reign  —  which 
opened  during  the  troubles  with  Italy  and  England 
—  Charles  merited  the  appellation  of  the  dispenser 
of  Justice,  which  history  has  since  conferred  upon 
him.  "A  gieat  lord,  named  Jourdain,"  says  de 
Lille,  "  to  whom  the  King,  at  the  prayer  of  Pope 
John,  had  remitted  the  punishment  of  eighteen 
crimes  whereof  he  stood  accused,  each  of  which 
was  punishable  by  death,  having  added  other  crimes 
to  those  already  committed,  viz.,  the  ravishment  of 
young  maidens ;  the  perpetration  of  homicide  ;  the  en- 
tertaining of  had  men  and  murderers  ;  the  protecting 
of  brigands  and  rising  against  the  King;  and  having 
at  last  hilled  tvith  his  own  hands  a  servant  of  the  King 
wearing  the  royal  livery — was  summoned  to  trial  at 
Paris. 

"He  came,  accordingly,  attended  by  a  numerous 
and  brilliant  suite  ;  but  this  did  not  prevent  the 
King,  after  an  examination,  from  confining  him  in 
the  Ch&telet.  He  was  afterward  condemned  to  death 
by  the  doctors  of  the  law,  dragged  at  a  horse's  tail, 
and  hanged  on  the  public  gibbet." 

Charles,  soon  after,  gave  a  second  proof  of  his 
inflexible  justice.  The  lord  of  Parthenay,  a  noble 
and  powerful  man  in  Poitou,  was  accused  of  heresy ; 
and  on  this  accusation  was  summoned  to  an  audience 
before  the  King  at  Paris.     He  repaired  thither;  but> 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY.  337 

excepting  to  the  inquisitor  who  accused  him,  he  re- 
fused to  answer  the  interrogatories  propounded,  and 
appealed  to  the  Pope.  Upon  this,  Charles  restored 
to  him  his  estates  which  had  already  been  confiscated, 
and  sent  him  with  an  escort  to  the  Pontiff;  "  not 
wishing,"  he  said,  "to  shut  from  any  one  the  road  to 
his  rights." 

The  war  with  England,  which  for  some  time  had 
been  extinguished,  now  broke  forth  again.  The 
ground  for  a  renewal  of  hostilities  was  a  dispute  con- 
cerning a  chateau  that  the  lord  of  Montpesat  had 
erected  in  Gascony.  The  King  of  France  claimed 
the  ch&,teau  because,  he  averred,  it  was  built  on 
his  territory;  the  King  of  England,  on  the  contrary, 
insisted  that  the  territory  was  his  and  that  the  chat- 
eau necessarily  pertained  to  him.  The  question 
was  at  first  submitted  to  arbitrators  who  gave  judg- 
ment in  favor  of  the  King  of  France.  But  the 
English  King  refused  his  assent  to  the  decision;  and 
a  war  was  commenced  between  these  old  enemies 
that  terminated  only  on  the  deposition  of  Edward  II.* 


♦  After  many  events  and  adventures,  Edward  II.,  accused 
before  theparliament  of  having  violated  the  laws  of  the  country, 
and  of  having  reposed  confidence  in  unworthy  ministers,  was, 
by  a  solemn  decree,  deposed  and  condemned  to  perpetual  im- 
prisonment, the  crown  passing  immediately  to  Edward  III. 
The  sentence  was  read  to  him  in  prison  in  these  terms:  "I, 
William  Trussel,  proxy  of  the  parliament  and  of  the  whole 
English  nation,  declare  to  you  in  their  name  and  by  their  au- 
29 


338  THE    FRENCH    MONARCHY. 

Charles  IV.  expired  at  hia  royal  abode  in  the 
wood  of  Vincennes  on  the  fii'st  of  February,  1328. 
Finding  that  his  death  was  near  at  hand,  he  called  his 
lords  around  his  bed  and  told  them  that  if  the  queen, 
who  was  soon  to  be  confined,  should  be  delivered  of 
a  son,  he  desired  his  cousin-german,  Philip  de  Valois, 
to  be  its  guardian  ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  the  child 
should  be  a  daughter,  the  kingdom  must  be  given  to 
him  whom  they  thought  most  worthy.* 

The  queen  was  delivered  of  a  daughter  :  and  with 
Charles  IV.  the  first  branch  of  the  Capetians  became 
extinct. 

The  States-general  elected  Philip  de  Valois,  his 
cousin-german,  although  Edward  III.  of  England 
was  his  nephew,  and  consequently  his  nearest  rela- 
tion ;t   this  relation,  however,   was  by   his  mother's 


thority  that  I  revoke  and  retract  the  homage  I  have  rendered 
you;  and,  from  this  moment,  I  deprive  you  of  the  royal  power, 
and  protest  that  I  will  no  longer  obey  you  as  my  King." — 
Chateaubriand;  analyse  raisonnee  de  Vhistoire  de  France. 

*  When  he  perceived  that  he  must  die,  he  devised  that  if, 
perchance,  the  queen  should  lie-in  of  a  son,  Messer  Philip  de 
Valois,  his  cousin-german,  should  be  its  guardian  and  regent  of 
the  kingdom,  until  that  his  son  was  old  enough  to  reign  :  but  if  the 
child  wore  a  daughter,  the  twelve  peers  and  the  high  barons  of 
France  should  counsel  and  advise  among  themselves  as  to  its 
disposal,  and  should  give  the  kingdom  to  whoever  ought  to 
have  it.  —  Jean  Froissard. 

+  Edward  II.  married  Isabelle  of  France,  sister  of  Charles 
the  Fair,  of  whom  was  born  Edward  III. 


THE    FRENCH    MONARCHV.  339 

side.  The  reason  given  by  the  lords  for  this  sub- 
stitution was,  says  Froissard,  "  that  the  kingdom  of 
France  is  of  such  high  nobility  that  it  ought  not,  by 
inheritoTice,  to  descend  to  a  female,  nor,  consequently, 
to  the  son  of  such  female ;  and  they  caused  my  lord 
Philip  to  be  crowned  at  Rheitns  on  the  day  of  Trinity, 
in  the  year  of  G-race  1328, — since  which,  great 
war  and  desolation  have  happened  to  the  kingdom  of 
France,  and  to  vimiy  countries. 


CONCLUSION 


29* 


CONCLUSION. 


We  have  now  brought  our  chronological  labor  to 
a  close.  What  we  have  thus  far  written  is  a  simple 
record  of  dates  and  facts — the  result  of  mere  histo- 
rical research,  in  which  the  imagination  of  the  poet 
has  no  shai'e ;  unless  the  religious  theories  we  have 
hazarded  and  the  political  theory  we  are  now  to 
offer,  be  regarded  as  poetical. 

We  concluded  with  the  death  of  Charles  IV., 
because,  on  the  accession  of  Philip  de  Valois,  a  new 
era  commenced  for  France.  The  national  monarchy 
had  attained  its  loftiest  point ;  and  was  to  descend, 
step  by  step,  from  the  feudal  heights  where  Hugh 
Capet  laid  the  foundation  of  his  edifice,  to  the  popu- 
lar plains  where  Louis-Philippe — probably  the  last 
King  of  this  race — has  pitched  his  tent  of  a  day. 

Anived  at  the  summit  of  this  mountain,  let  us 
cast  a  last  glance  before  and  behind  us  :  a  glance 
which  will  extend  on  one  side  to  the  Gaul  of  Caesar ; 


344  CONCLUSION. 

and,  on  the  other,  to  the  France  of  Napoleon.  To 
our  readers  this  will  be,  at  once,  a  summary  of 
what  we  have  written  and  a  programme  of  what  we 
have  yet  to  write. 

Gaul,  conquered  by  Caesar,  became,  under  Augus- 
tus, a  Roman  province.  The  Emperors  sent  thither 
a  governor  who  ruled  over  the  prefects  :  this  governor 
received  his  orders  directly  from  the  republic  and 
transmitted  them  to  his  agents.  The  policy  gene- 
rally adopted  for  other  conquered  countries,  was  also 
adopted  for  Gaul.  The  government  was  mild 
and  paternal ;  and,  as  civilization  brought  to  barba- 
rism pleasures,  arts  and  enjoyments  previously 
unknown  to  the  latter,  she  had  no  difficulty,  cor- 
rupter as  she  was,  in  moulding  the  primitive  nations 
of  Gaul  to  the  Roman  manners.  The  South  espe- 
cially—  with  its  fertile  plains  which  were  separated 
from  Italy  but  by  the  Alps  ;  its  shores  laved  by  the 
same  sea ;  its  inhabitants  breathing  an  air  perfumed 
like  that  of  Sorrento  and  Pcestum — was  the  favorite 
portion  of  the  pi'ovince."  The  Roman  Narbo  arose 
near  the  Grecian  Massilia ;  Aries  had  an  amj^hithea- 
tre ;  Nismes,  a  circus ;  Autun,  a  school ;  Lyons, 
temples.  Native  legions,  each  soldier  of  which  was 
proud  to  bear  the  name  of  Roman  citizen,  were 
raised  in  the  Narbonnaise ;  and,  traversing  Gaul, 
subjected  Brittany  to  the  empire,  —  a  conquest 
which  the  empire  had  been  unable  to  achieve. 


CONCLUSION.  345 

The  Frank  conquest  succeeded  to  the  Roman 
sovereignty  ;  barbarism  superseded  civilization,  and 
it  was  high  time  :  for  the  corruption  that  infected 
the  heart  of  the  Empire  w^as  extending  to  its 
extremities.  But  the  Frank  sword  severed  Gaul 
from  the  Roman  body  and  saved  it.  It  is  remarka- 
ble that  the  civilization  which  conquers  barbarism  is 
fraught  with  inherent  decay  :  while  the  barbarism 
that  conquers  civilization  b^ars  a  fertilizing  and  self- 
perpetuating  principle. 

The  Frank  chiefs  retained  so  much  of  the  Roman 
constitution  as  they  could  adapt  to  their  manners 
and  their  interests.  The  government  was  concentra- 
ted in  one  man  under  Mere-wig  and  Hlodo-wig  ;  it 
was  divided  under  their  successors. 

The  division  of  power  led  to  the  division  of 
property.  As  soon  as  the  chieftainry  possessed 
lands,  it  sought  a  representative  in  the  government, 
and  the  office  of  Mayor  of  the  Palace  was  created 
to  meet  its  demand.  This  office  underwent  the 
same  progressive  variations  as  the  royalty  it  was  one 
day  to  supersede.  Under  Sighe-bert*  and  his  prede- 
cessors, the  incumbent  held  it  for  a  term  :  under 
Hlot-her,  for  life :  and,  under  Hlodo-wig  II.,  it 
became  hereditary  :  nevertheless,  like  royalty,  it  was 


*  The  first  Mayor  of  the  Palace  of  whom  we  have  any  ac- 
count was  Goggon,  who  was  sent  from  Sighe-bert  to  Athana- 
gilde  to  ask  from  him  the  hand  of  Brunehilde. 


346  CONCLUSION. 

of  elective  origin,  "  Reges  ex  nohilitate,  duces  ex 
virtute  sumunty  But  the  moment  that  one  of  these 
rival  dignities  abandoned  its  original  principle,  the 
other  followed  the  example. 

The  authority  of  the  Frank  Kings  was  by  no 
means  absolute.  In  addition  to  the  Mayor  of  the 
Palace,  placed  near  the  throne  to  represent  the 
chieftainry,  there  were  also  councils  composed  of 
military  leaders,  who  conferred  with  the  King  on  the 
affairs  of  the  nation,*  and  reported  the  result  of  such 
conference  to  the  troops,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
grand  reviews  which  ordinarily  took  place  in  the 
month  of  March  or  May.  Things  continued  thus 
until  the  people,  represented  by  the  Church,  found 
themselves,  in  turn,  possessed  of  a  portion  of  terri- 
tory. Then  the  bishops  entered  into  the  councils 
of  the  King ;  ecclesiastical  deputies  were  sent  to  the 
Champ  de  Mars,  or  de  Mai ;  and  the  three  orders  of 
proprietaries  were  represented :  royalty,  by  the 
King;  chieftainry,  by  the  Mayor;  and  the  Church 
or  the  people,  by  the  bishops. 

The  overthrow  of  the  Merovingian  by  the  Caro- 
lingian  dynasty  created  a  vacuum  in  the  representa- 
tion of  these  powers.  The  chieftainry  had  overcome 
royalty  and  taken  its  place ;  and  it  cherished  the  belief 
that  the  two  were  inseparably  amalgamated,  forget- 


*  Of  the  conquering  nation :  as  for  the  conquered  nation, 
there  was  no  discussion  of  its  interests,  for  it  was  yet  in  slavery 


CONCLUSION.  .     347 

ting  that  under  the  very  scythe  of  the  mower  a  new 
harvest  is  always  springing  up.  Chieftainry  now 
no  longer  existed  as  a  separate  power,  and  no  longer 
needed  a  distinct  representative  ;  it  was  blended  with 
royalty  and  could  not  elect  the  King.  Consequently, 
the  office  of  Mayor  of  the  Palace  was  suppressed, 
and  Charlemagne  took  for  the  inscription  on  his  coin, 
Carolus,  gratia  Dei  rex. 

Thus,  with  the  promotion  of  the  chieftainry  to 
the  throne,  the  elective  principle  that  made  Kings 
was  destroyed. 

Charlemagne  was,  therefore,  the  first  and  the  last  ab- 
solute monarch  of  the  conquering  race  ;  for  his  pre- 
decessors had  been  obliged  to  wrestle  with  the  chief- 
tainry, and  his  successors  were  to  contend  with  the 
vassalage.  During  his  reign,  there  was  nothing 
bearing  the  similitude  of  resistance  on  the  part  of  a 
class  whose  heads  scarcely  rose  above  the  ground 
that  he  trod  with  his  sandals.  His  commands  were 
neither  approved  nor  opposed  :  they  were  issued  and 
obeyed.  He  desired  laws — and  the  Capitularia 
superseded  the  Theodosian  code:  he  desired  an 
army  —  it  arose  :  he  desired  a  victory  —  it  was  won. 

This  union  of  authority  and  strength  was  needed, 
that  Charlemagne  might  accomplish  his  mission.  It 
was  necessary  that  one  intelligence  should  erect  on 
one  plan  the  ramparts  of  this  mighty  empire,  in  order 
that  barbarism,  unable  to  find  a  single  weak  point, 
might  crush  itself  against  the   adamantine  barrier. 


348  CONCLUSION. 

And  it  was  necessary  that  Charlemagne's  reign 
should  be  a  long  one,  for  he  alone  could  accomplish 
the  prodigious  task  he  had  undertaken. 

We  have  already  expressed  our  views  of  the  dis- 
memberment of  the  empire.  The  heirs  of  Charle- 
magne made — but  on  a  much  larger  scale — the 
same  division  as  the  sons  of  Hlodo-wig  had  done  j 
and  the  same  causes  brought  about  the  same  result, 
viz.,  the  creation  of  a  new  seigneurial  caste,  by 
means  of  the  grants  of  lands  that  the  Carolingian  and 
Merovingian  Kings  were  obliged  to  concede;  first, 
to  gain  the  throne  and  afterward  to  keep  it.  Char- 
lemagne, breaking  from  the  trammels  of  the  Frank 
Chiefs,  was  the  first  who  adopted  the  inscription  on 
money — which  he,  alone,  had  the  right  to  coin  — 
Carolus,  gratia  Dei  rex.  The  French  lords,  in 
turn,  escaping  from  the  Frank  domination,  denied 
that  their  prerogative  emanated  from  royalty,  as 
Charlemagne  had  denied  that  his  emanated  from  the 
chieftainry:  and,  two  centuries  later,  they  arrogated 
to  themselves  not  only  the  right  to  coin  money,  like 
the  Emperors,  but  also — after  the  example  of  Char- 
lemagne —  to  stamp  upon  it  gratia  Dei.* 

We  have  also  explained  in  what  manner  the  sepa- 
ration was  effected  between  the  Frank  royalty  and 


*  In  865,  Odon,  son  of  Raymond,  was  the  first  to  set  this 
example,  by  taking  the  title  of  Count  of  Toulouse  and  Marquis 
of  Gothia,  by  the  grace  of  God. 


CONCLUSION.  349 

the  French  seigniory ;  and  how  the  territorial  pro- 
prietors took  part  with  the  interests  of  the  soil 
against  the  interests  of  royalty,  although  the  Lords 
and  the  Kings  were  of  the  same  race.  We  entered 
into  details  sufficiently  minute  of  the  rise,  struggle 
and  victory  of  the  national  party ;  and  it  is  not  neces- 
sary now  to  present  another  picture  of  this  epoch  of 
change,  placed  between  the  royalty  of  the  conquest 
and  the  royalty  of  the  nation. 

When  Hugh  Capet  ascended  the  throne  previously 
occupied  by  Eudes  and  Raoul  —  these  first  French 
Kings,  who  were  thrust  in  among  the  German  Kings 
— he  found  territorial  France  divided  between  seven 
great  proprietaries,  holding  their  possessions  no 
longer  by  royal  grant  and  tolerance,  under  the  title 
of  alleu  or  fiefs,  but,  hy  the  grace  of  God,  The 
monarchical  edifice  which  he  was  to  erect,  was 
therefore  to  differ  in  many  respects  from  that  of 
Charlemagne  and  of  Hlodo-wig.  The  royalty  con- 
ferred on  him  much  more  nearly  resembled  the  pres- 
idency of  an  aristocratic  republic  than  the  dictator- 
ship of  an  empire.  He  was  the  first,  but  by  no 
means  the  richest  or  the  most  powerful,  among  his 
peers.  Consequently,  the  first  act  of  the  new  King 
was  to  increase  the  number  of  his  grand  vassals  to 
twelve,  by  introducing  among  them  ecclesiastical 
peers  in  order  to  secure  the  support  of  the  Church  ; 
and  then,  upon  the  solid  basis  of  these  twelve  mighty 
30 


350  CONCLUSION. 

coluinns,  which  represented  the  grand  vassalage,  he 
placed  the  dome  of  the  national  monarchy.* 

When  the  benefits  that  this  first  era  was  to  pro- 
duce were  realized :  that  is  to  say,  when  a  language, 
as  new  and  national  as  the  monarchy,  had  succeeded 
to  the  language  of  the  conquest;  when  the  Crusades 
had  opened  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  arts 
and  sciences  from  the  East ;  when  the  bull  of  Alex- 
ander TIL,  which  declared  all  Christians  free,  had 
led  to  the  enfranchisement  of  the  serfs;  when,  finally, 
Philip  the  Fair,  aiming  the  first  blow  at  feudal  mon- 
archy, had  modified  it  by  the  creation  of  the  Tiers- 
Etats,  and  established  the  seat  and  the  sessions  of 
parliament,  —  then  the  lime  arrived  for  this  monar- 
chy, which  had  fulfilled  its  destiny,  to  give  place  to 
another  which  had  its  destiny  to  accomplish.  Then 
Philip  de  Valois  appeared,  struck  the  hatchet  in  the 
edifice  of  Hugh  Capet,  and  the  head  of  Clisson  fell. 

Tanneguy  Duchatel  inherited  the  hatchet  of  Philip 
de  Valois.  Seventy  years  after  Philip,  he,  in  turn, 
struck,  and  the  head  of  John  of  Burgundy  fell. 

Louis  XL,  therefore,  on  entering  this  edifice,  found 


*  We  must  beg  our  readers  to  follow  us  with  some  attention 
in  the  theory  we  are  about  to  develop:  not  because  it  is  compli- 
cated, but  because  it  is  simple;  and  because  nothing  is  more 
difficult  of  belief  than  a  simple  proposition  of  which  we  have 
never  before  thought.  Besides,  this  theory,  whether  true  or 
false,  superficial  or  profound,  grave  or  ridiculous,  is  entirely 
our  oton. 


CONCLUSION.  351 

two  of  the  feudal  columns,  by  which  its  dome  was 
sustained,  already  demolished.  His  task  was  to  de- 
stroy the  remainder,  and  he  was  not  recreant  to  his 
duty.  He  had  scarcely  ascended  the  throne  before 
he  commenced  his  labor. 

Nothing  was  then  to  be  seen  but  feudal  ruins. 
The  wrecks  of  the  houses  of  Berri,  Saint-Pol,  Ne- 
mours, Burgundy,  Guienne  and  Anjou  were  strewn 
around ;  and  doubtless  the  edifice  would  have  fallen, 
had  not  the  King  upheld  the  dome  with  one  hand 
while  he  beat  down  the  columns  with  the  other. 

He  at  last  stood  alone,  supporting  by  his  single 
arm  the  ponderous  dome,  which  his  genius  enabled 
him  to  uphold  by  keeping  it  at  a  perfect  equipoise. 

Louis  XL  was  the  first  absolute  sovereign  of  the 
national  monarchy  ;  but  he  bequeathed  despotic 
power  to  successors  too  feeble  to  maintain  it.  The 
grand  vassalage,  demolished  by  him,  was  succeeded 
under  the  reigns  of  Charles  VIH.  and  Louis  XH.  by 
the  grand  seigniory.  So^that,  when  Francis  I.  as- 
cended the  throne  —  alarmed  at  beholding  the  oscil- 
lations of  the  monarchy  ;  seeking  its  primitive  sup- 
ports and  not  finding  them  ;  looking  for  the  twelve 
men  of  iron  and  meeting  only  two  hundred  men  of 
velvet^  he  proposed  to  remedy  the  loss  of  the  twelve 
massive  columns  by  supplying  their  places  with  a 
multitude  of  inferior  ones;  by  substituting  great 
seignors  for  great  vassals ;  he  cared  not  that  the  dome 
was  depressed  to  the  lower  level  of  these  new  col- 


352  CONCLUSION. 

umns,  provided  the  edifice  was  strengthened  by  such 
depression.  And,  in  fact,  although  the  supports  of 
his  erection  were  less  elevated  and,  individually, 
weaker  than  the  old  ones ;  they  were  not,  in  the  ag- 
gregate, less  solid ;  for  they  constantly  represented 
property ;  and  their  multiplication  was  in  exact  har- 
mony with  the  territorial  division  that  had  taken 
place  between  his  own  reign  and  that  of  the  eleventh 
Louis.* 

Francis  I.  was,  therefore,  the  founder  of  the  mon- 
archy of  the  grand  seigniory,  as  Hugh  Capet  had 
been  of  that  of  the  grand  vassalage. 

Then,  when  this  second  era  of  national  royalty  had 
brought  forth  its  fruits  :  when  printing  had  given 
some  stability  to  the  revival  of  letters  and  sciences ; 
when  Rabelais  and  Montaigne  had  refined  the  lan- 
guage ;  when  the  arts  had  appeared  in  France  in 
the  train  of  Primaticcio  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci ; 
when  Luther  in  Germany,  Wicliffin  England,  and 
Calvin  in  France  had,  by  religious  reformation,  pre- 
pared the  way  for  political  reformation ;  when  the 
evacuation  of  Calais  (with  which  event  the  last  trace 
of  the  conquest  of  Edward  III.  disappeared  from  our 
soil)  determined  our  military  limits ;  when  the  eve 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  with  a  result  contrary  to  what 


♦  In  our  investigations  we  shall  follow  the  division  of  pro- 
perty with  care  in  all  its  details :  for  this  base,  enlarged  by  the 
revolution,  will  one  day  be  the  only  solid  pedestal  of  Liberty. 


CONCLUSION.  353 

was  anticipated,  caused  religion  and  royalty  which 
were  held  in  each  other's  embraces  to  slip  and  totter 
in  Huguenot  blood;  when,  finally,  the  execution  of  La 
Mole,  the  assassination  of  the  Guises,  and  the  arrest 
of  Biron  announced  to  the  grand  seigniory — as  the 
death  of  Clisson  and  John  of  Burgundy  had  formerly 
announced  to  the  grand  vassalage — that  their  time 
was  fulfilled  and  their  hour  had  come  :  then,  like  a 
blazing  comet  in  the  firmament,  appeared  Richelieu; 
that  mighty  destroyer  who  was  to  drain  on  the  scaf- 
^?  .fold  all  the  blood  that  civil  war  and  duelling  had  left 
■^   in  the  veins  of  the  noblesse, 

u  Louis  XL  had  now  been  dead   one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  years.* 

We  need  not  say  that  the  mission  of  these  two 
men  was  the  same.  And  it  is  well  known  that 
Richelieu  accomplished  his  as  religiously  as  Loxiis 
XL  had  done. 

Louis  XIV.,  therefore,  found  the  monarchical  edi- 
fice not  only  deprived  of  the  support  of  its  two 
hundred  columns,  but  completely  disembarrassed  of 
every  vestige  of  their  ruins.  The  throne  was  so 
equipoised  upon  levelled  France  that,  child  as  this 
monarch  then  was,  he  ascended  it  without  stumbling. 
Afterward,  when  he  attained  his  majority,  the  road 
to  absolute  power  displayed  itself  before  him  marked 


*  Richelieu  entered  the  council  in  1624.     The  first  executions, 
by  kis  command,  took  place  in  1625  and  1626. 
3Q* 


354  CONCLUSION. 

out  by  so  broad  a  foot  that  the  disciple  had  but  to 
follow  his  master's  steps  without  fear  of  going  astray. 
And  this  was  necessary  for  Louis  XIV.:  he  had  not 
the  genius,  but  only  the  education,  for  despotism. 

He  did  not,  however,  the  less  accomplish  his 
mission.  He  made  himself  the  centre  of  the  kingdom. 
He  attached  to  himself  all  the  springs  of  royalty, 
and  held  them  with  such  a  firm  and  long  continued 
tension  that  he  foresaw  they  would  snap  in  pieces 
in  the  hands  of  his  successors. 

The  regency  now  came,  spread  its  compost  over 
the  kingdom,  and  aristocracy  sprang  up  from  the 
soil. 

Louis  XV.,  when  his  minority  terminated,  found 
himself  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of  Francis  I. 
and  Hugh  Capet.  The  monarchy  was  to  be  re- 
organized. The  ground  occupied  by  the  grand 
seigniory  and  the  grand  vassalage  was,  in  effect, 
vacant  j  for  strong  and  vigorous  trunks  had  given 
place  to  feeble  saplings.  It  was  therefore  necessary 
to  depress  the  monarchical  dome  still  lower,  and 
again  substitute  the  quantity  for  the  strength  of  its 
supporters.  In  place  of  the  twelve  grand  vassals  of 
Hugh  Capet,  and  the  two  hundred  grand  lords  of 
Francis  1.,^  Louis  XV.  was  forced  to.  prop  his  totter- 
ing edifice  with  the  fifty  thousand  aristocrats  of  the 
Orleans  regency. 

Finally  ;  when  this  third  era  of  the  national  royalty 
had  brought  forth  its  fruits  —  fruits  of  the  Lake 
Asphaltus,  full  of  ashes  and  rottenness  j, — when  the 


CONCLUSION.  356 

Dubois's  and  the  Laws,  the  Pompadours  and  the 
Dubarrys  had  destroyed  the  respect  due  to  royalty  ; 
when  the  Voltaires,  and  the  Diderots,  the  d'Alem- 
berts  and  the  Grimms  had  stifled  the  faith  due  to 
religion; — religion,  that  nurse  of  the  people,  and 
royalty,  that  foundress  of  society,  sullied  by  their 
contact  with  men,  re-ascended  to  the  God  who  gave 
them. 

Their  flight  left  the  monarchy  of  divine  right  de- 
fenceless ;  and,  at  the  distance  of  but  four  years, 
Louis  XVL  saw  gleaming  in  the  East  the  flames  of 
the  Eastile,  and,  in  the  West,  the  iron  of  the  guil- 
lotine. 

It  was  now  no  longer  a  man  that  came  to  destroy, 
for  one  man  had  been  incompetent  to  the  task  of  des- 
truction. A  whole  nation  arose  ;  and,  increasing 
her  workmen  with  the  increase  of  her  task,  she  sent 
four  hundred  proxies  to  hew  dovni  the  aristocracy, 
daughter  of  the  grand  seigniory  and  grand-daughter 
of  the  grand  vassalage. 

On  the  twenty-second  of  September,  1792,  the 
National  Convention  laid  hold  of  the  hereditary 
hatchet, 

Richelieu  had  now  been  dead  one  hundred  and 
forty-nine  years. 

There  is  something  singular  in  this  coincidence 
of  dates  :  Richelieu  appeared  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  years  after  Louis  XI. ;  and  the  Convention  one 
hundred  and  forty-nine  years  after  Richelieu. 


356  CONCLUSION, 

Let  us  now  correct  an  error  which  some  have  com- 
mitted through  ignorance  and  others  have  sanctioned 
through  bad  faith. 

The  year  1793  gave  birth  to  a  revolution,  but  not 
to  a  repubUc  :  this  latter  word  was  adopted  in  hatred 
of  royalty,  and  not  as  descriptive  of  existing  institu- 
tions. Thus,  the  axe  of  the  guillotine  is  triangular, 
and  it  is  by  a  triangle  that  we  symbolize  God  :  but 
who  would  dare  to  say  that  the  guillotine  and  the 
Deity  are  identical  1 

The  Thermidorian  reaction  saved  the  lives  of  the 
remainder  of  the  ai'istocracy  who  were  about  to  fall 
under  the  hand  of  Robespierre ;  the  axe,  raised 
against  them,  inflicted  a  deep,  but  not  a  mortal  wound  ; 
and  the  Bourbons  found  them  still  surviving  when 
they  re-entered  France  in  1814.  The  old  monarchy 
recognised  its  ancient  support  and  gave  into  its  safe- 
keeping the  Chamber  of  Peers — that  last  fortress  of 
the  royalty  by  divine  right. 

Those  who  most  narrowly  watched  the  progress  of 
events  in  France  were  wholly  perj^lexed  by  the  pre- 
cocious accident  of  the  ninth  Thermidor  ;  and  twenty 
years  later  they  were  astonished  to  behold  alive,  and 
entrenched  in  the  heart  of  France,  that  aristocracy 
which  they  believed  to  have  been  exterminated  by 
the  Convention, 

Immediately  the  sun  of  July  arose;  and,  for  three 
days,  like  the  sun  of  Joshua,  it  stood  still  in  the 
Heavens. 


CONCLUSION.  357 

Then  occurred  that  marvellous  revolution —  a  revo- 
lution that  did  not  exceed  its  commission  ;  that  attain- 
ed only  what  it  was  destined  to  attain  ;  that  destroyed 
only  what  it  was  destined  to  destroy,  A  revolution 
believed  to  be  new ;  but  which  was  the  offspring  of 
1793.  A  revolution  which  lasted  only  three  days, 
because  it  had  only  the  wreck  of  aristocracy  to 
exterminate  :  and  which,  scorning  to  assail  so  feeble 
a  body  with  axe  or  sword,  was  content  to  strike  it 
powerless  with  a  law,  and  a  decree,  as  is  done  to  a 
crazy  old  man  whom  a  family  council  interdicts. 

The  law  was  that  of  the  tenth  of  December,  1831, 
abolishing  the  right  of  succession  to  the  peerage  : 
and. 

The  decree  was  that  of  the  sixteenth  of  Decem- 
ber, 1832,  declaring  that  any  one  might  style  himself 
Count  or  Marquis.* 

The  day  after  these  two  things  were  done,  the 
revolution  of  July  was  completed  ;  for  aristocracy, 
if  not  dead,  was  manacled.  The  genuine  party  of 
the    Chamber  of  Peers,  represented  by  the  Fitz- 


*  The  259th  article  of  the  ancient  Code  was  thus  expressed : 
"  Whoever  shall  have  publicly  worn  a  costume,  uniform,  or 
order  which  does  not  belong  to  him,  or  assume  noble  titlesxohich 
have  not  been  legally  conferred  on  him,  shall  be  punished  by  an 
imprisonment  of  from  six  months  to  two  years."  On  a  revis- 
ion of  the  Code  the  words  in  italics  were  stricken  out  as  being 
incompatible  with  our  customs. 


358  CONCLUSION. 

James's  and  the  Chateaubriands,  left  the  Palace  of 
the  Luxembourg,  to  return  thither  no  more  ;  and 
with  them  all  aristocratic  influence  disappeared  from 
the  realm,  to  give  place  to  that  of  the  landed  in- 
terest. 

Louis-Philippe  placed  himself  near  expiring  roy- 
alty, like  an  heir  at  the  pillow  of  a  dying  testator, 
and  seized  the  will  which  the  people  might  have 
broken.  But  the  people,  with  unerring  intelligence, 
perceived  that  there  was  a  last  form  of  monarchy 
yet  to  be  exhausted,  and  that  Louis-Philippe  was  the 
repi'esentative  of  this  form.  They  were  therefore 
content  to  erase  from  the  hereditary  escutcheon  the 
gratia  Dei  :  and  if  they  did  not  inscribe  gratia  pop- 
uli  in  its  place,  it  was  because  they  were  certain  that 
the  King  would  never  cease  to  remember  from  whom 
his  power  emanated. 

New  supports  now  became  indispensable  to  the 
new  monarchical  edifice.  The  fifty  thousand  aristo- 
crats of  Louis  XV.  had  ceased  to  exist ;  the  two 
hundred  great  lords  of  Francis  I.  had  fallen  ;  the 
twelve  grand  vassals  of  Hugh  Capet  slept  in  their 
feudal  sepulchi'e  :  and,  in  the  place  of  these  abol- 
ished orders,  which  had  held  privileges  restricted  to 
the  few,  there  arose  on  all  sides  wealth  and  industry 
which  propose  equal  privileges  to  all.  Louis-Phil- 
ippe had  not  even  the  choice  between  the  sympathies 
of  birth  and  the  exigencies  of  the  moment :  in  place 
of  the  fifty  thousand  aristocrats  of  Louis  XV.,  there 


CONCLUSION.  359 

sprang  up  the  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  great 
proprietaries  and  artizans  of  the  restoration  ;  and  the 
monarchical  dome  was  brought  still  nearer  to  the 
people  ;  it  was  its  lowest  and  its  last  descent. 

Thus,  after  each  revolution  that  demolished,  came 
the  calm  that  re-constructed.  After  each  harvest 
that  was  mowed,  came  the  fallow  ground  where  a 
new  harvest  was  germinated.  After  the  reign  of 
Louis  XI. —  that  terror  of  the  grand  vassalage  — 
came  the  reigns  of  Charles  VIII.  and  Louis  XII.  in 
which  sprang  up  the  grand  seigniory.  After  the 
reigns  of  Louis  XIII.  and  Louis  XIV  —  that  '93  of 
the  gi'and  seigniory — came  the  regency,  during  which 
aristocracy  sprang  up.  And,  finally,  after  the  reign 
of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  which  mowed 
down  the  aristocrats,  came  the  restoration,  during 
which  sprang  up  la  grande  propriety. 

We  wish  to  point  out,  in  this  connexion,  the  per- 
fect analogy  that  existed  between  those  who  re- 
organized the  society  of  the  several  epochs  and  those 
who  composed  that  society  : 

Louis-Philippe,  with  his  costume  so  well  known  as 
to  be  proverbial,  his  manners  so  simple  as  to  become 
a  model, —  is  he  not  the  type  of  the  great  landed 
and  operative  interests  1 

Louis  XV.,  with  his  coat  of  velvet  covered  with 
embroidery  and  spangles,  his  silken  vest,  his  sword 
with  hilt  of  steel  and  knot  of  ribbons,  his  profligate 
manners,  his  libertine  spirit,  his  selfishness  for  the 


360  CONCLUSION. 

present  and  recklessness  for  the  future, —  is  he  not 
a  complete  type  of  the  aristocrats  1 

Francis  I.,  with  his  cap  surmounted  by  plumes, 
his  doublet  of  silk,  his  shoes  of  slashed  velvet,  his 
spirit  elegantly  haughty,  and  his  manners  nobly  de- 
bauched,—  is  he  not  a  perfect  type  of  the  grand 
seigniory  1 

And  Hugh  Capet,  their  common  ancestor,  encased 
in  his  iron  cuirass,  leaning  on  his  iron  sword  and 
severe  in  his  iron  manners,  —  does  he  not  appear, 
standing  on  the  horizon  of  monarchy,  an  exact  type 
of  the  grand  vassalage  1 

One  question,  which  we  have  avoided  for  fear  of 
interrupting  the  course  of  our  argument,  will  here 
naturally  suggest  itself  to  the  minds  of  our  readers. 

In  this  great  system  of  monarchical  decline  which 
has  just  been  presented,  what  disposition  is  to  be 
made  of  Napoleon  1 

We  answer  that,  according  to  our  theory,  three 
men  have  ftom  all  eternity  been  foreordained  to  ac- 
complish the  work  of  social  regeneration :  Caesar, 
Charlemagne  and  Napoleon, 

Caesar  was  to  pave  the  way  for  Christianity ; 

Charlemagne,  for  civilization ; 

Napoleon,  for  liberty.* 


*  Every  new  and  bold  idea  has  the  appearance,  at  first  sight, 
of  being  paradoxical;  the  readermust  first  listen  to  ours  and 
afterward  judge  of  it. 


CONCLUSION.  361 

We  have  already  shown  in  what  manner  Caesar 
paved  the  way  for  Christianity  by  collecting,  within 
the  colossal  embrace  of  Rome,  fourteen  nations  upon 
whom  Christ  arose. 

We  have  also  explained  how  Charlemagne  pre- 
pared the  way  for  civilization,  by  opposing  the  ram- 
parts of  his  vast  empire  to  the  migration  of  barba- 
rians. 

We  will  now  relate  how  Napoleon  prepared  the 
way  for  liberty. 

When  Napoleon,  on  the  18th  Brumaire,  took  pos- 
session of  France,  she  was  still  feverish  with  the  ex- 
citement of  civil  war;  and,  in'one  of  her  paroxysms, 
she  had  thrown  herself  quite  in  advance  of  other  na- 
tions ;  the  equilibrium  of  general  progression  was 
deranged  by  the  excess  of  individual  progression. 
France,  in  short,  was  a  maniac  for  liberty,  whom, 
according  to  Kings,  it  was  necessary  to  manacle  in 
order  to  cure. 

Napoleon  appeared  with  his  two-fold  propensity 
for  despotism  and  war ;  his  two-fold  nature,  popular 
and  aristocratic  :  he  was  behind  the  ideas  of  France, 
but  in  advance  of  the  ideas  of  Europe:  a  man  of  re- 
sistance, as  to  his  own  people;  but  of  progression,  as 
to  others. 

The  Kings  of  other  nations  most  injudiciously 
made  war  upon  him  ! 

Napoleon  then  collected  together  whatever  was 
the  purest,  the  most  intelligent  and  the  most  pro- 
31 


362  CONCLUSION. 

gressive  in  France.  Of  this  materiel  he  formed  ar- 
mies and  spread  them  over  Europe.  Everywhere 
they  carried  death  to  Kings,  but  life  to  the  people. 
Wherever  the  spirit  of  France  passed,  liberty  made 
a  gigantic  stride  in  its  footsteps,  sowing  the  seed  of 
revolutions  as  the  sower  casts  the  grain  into  his  fur- 
rows. Napoleon  fell  in  1815,  and  scarcely  three 
years  had  rolled  away,  ere  the  revolutionary  fields 
were  ready  for  the  harvest. 

In  1818,  the  grand  Duchies  of  Baden  and  Bavaria 
claimed  and  obtained  a  constitution. 

In  1819,  Wirtemburg  claimed  a  constitution  and 
obtained  it. 

In  1820.  Revolution  and  constitution  of  the 
Cortes  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

In  1820.  Revolution  and  constitution  of  Naples 
and  Piedmont. 

In  1821.  Insurrection  of  the  Greeks  against 
Turkey. 

In  1823.     Institution  of  the  States  in  Prussia. 

One  nation  alone,  by  its  topographical  situation, 
escaped  this  progressive  influence  ;  and  was  too  dis- 
tant for  France  to  gain  a  foothold  upon  its  soil. 
Napoleon,  by  constantly  fixing  his  eyes  on  it,  became 
at  last  habituated  to  this  distance,  which  appeared, 
at  first,  possible,  and  then  easy,  to  surmount.  Let 
but  a  pretext  arise,  and  he  would  conquer  Russia, 
as  he  had  conquered  Italy,  Egypt,  Germany,  Austria 
and   Spain.      This   pretext   soon    presented    itself. 


CONCLUSION.  363 

An  English  vessel  entered  a  port  of  the  Baltic,  in 
defiance  of  continental  promises ;  and  war  was  imme- 
diately declared  by  Napoleon  the  Great  against  his 
brother-despot  Alexander  I.,  the  Czar  of  all  the 
Russias. 

At  the  first  glance,  it  seemed  as  if  the  purposes 
of  Providence  were  to  be  baffled  by  the  despotic 
instinct  of  a  man.  France  entered  into  Russia,  but 
liberty  and  slavery  could  not  coalesce.  No  seed 
would  germinate  in  that  frozen  soil.  Not  only 
armies,  but  a  whole  people  retired  before  the  French 
troops.  It  was  a  deserted  country  they  invaded  ; 
it  was  a  burning  capital  they  conquered  ;  for  when 
they  entered  Moscow  it  was  depopulated  and  in 
flames. 

Then  the  mission  of  Napoleon  was  accomplished 
and  the  hour  of  his  downfall  had  arrived  :  for  liberty 
was  now  to  gain  from  his  fall  as  much  as  she  had 
formerly  done  from  his  elevation.  The  Czar,  so 
prudent  before  a  conquering  foe,  became  rash  before 
a  vanquished  one  :  he  retreated  from  the  victor,  but 
he  pursued  the  fugitive. 

God  therefore  withdrew  his  hand  from  Napoleon  : 
and,  to  make  His  intervention  in  human  affairs  visible 
to  all.  He  changed  the  nature  of  the  contest.  Man 
no  lonerer  contended  with  man,  but  the  order  of  the 
seasons  was  reversed  :  snow  and  cold  were  sent 
upon  the  earth  before  their  time,  and  the  elements 
destroyed  an  army. 


364  CONCLUSION. 

And  thus,  by  unseen  Wisdom,  are  events  caused 
to  work  together.  Paris  had  been  unable  to  carry 
civilization  to  Moscow;  Moscow,  therefore,  must 
come  to  seek  it  at  Paris.  Two  years  after  the  con- 
flagration of  his  own  capital,  Alexander  entered  that 
which  had  been  Napoleon's. 

But  his  sojourn  was  of  too  short  a  duration.  His 
soldiers  scarcely  touched  the  soil  of  France ;  and 
the  sun  which  would  have  enlightened,  only  dazzled 
them. 

The  Lord  then  recalled  his  chosen  instrument. 
Napoleon  re-appeared,  and  the  gladiator,  still  bleed- 
ing from  his  last  contest,  came  not  to  combat  but  to 
hold  forth  his  throat  at  Waterloo. 

Then  Paris  re-opened  her  gates  to  the  Czar  and 
his  barbarian  host :  and,  this  time,  the  men  of  the  Volga 
and  the  Don  dwelt  for  three  years  on  the  banks  of  the 
Seine.  After  this,  impressed  with  new  and  strange 
ideas,  stammering  the  unknown  names  of  civiliza- 
tion and  enfranchisement,  they  returned  with  regret 
to  their  rude  country.  Eight  years  afterward,  a 
republican  conspiracy  burst  out  at  St.  Petersburgh. 

Turn  over  the  leaves  of  the  immense  volume  of 
the  past ;  and  say  in  what  other  epoch  so  many 
thrones  have  trembled  and  so  many  Kings  fled 
along  the  high-ways.  And  wherefore  ?  Because 
their  half-slain  enemy  was  interred  alive  ;  and  the 
modern  Enceladus  shook  the  world  each  time  he 
moved  within  his  tomb. 


CONCLUSION.  365 

Thus  came  at  intervals  of  nine  centuries,  and  as 
living  proofs  of  what  we  have  advanced  —  that 
genius  is  blind  in  proportion  as  it  is  mighty  — 

Cassar,  the  pagan,  preparing  the  way  for  Christi- 
anity ; 

Charlemagne,  the  harharian,  preparing  the  way 
for  civilization ; 

Napoleon,  the  despot,  preparing  the  way  for  liberty 

And  now  the  word  of  Christ  is  in  full  progress 
of  accomplishment  :  the  nations  march  with  even 
steps  toward  liberty — one  after  another,  it  is  true, 
but  still  with  no  interval  between  them  ;  and  what- 
ever the  little  men  who  govern  her  may  have 
done  in  her  great  name,  France  has,  nevertheless, 
preserved  her  revolutionary  position  in  the  vanguard 
of  the  nations. 

Two  persons,  alone,  could  have  forced  her  to 
change  this  position  and  deviate  from  her  route  ;  for 
they  were  the  representatives  of  two  principles 
opposed  to  her  progressive  principle  :  they  were, 

Napoleon  II.  and  Henry  V, 

Napoleon  II.  represented  the  principle  of  despo- 
tism ;  and, 

Henry  V,  the  principle  of  legitimacy. 

The  Lord  stretched  forth  his  hands  and  grasped 
them  at  the  two  extremities  of  Europe  :  one,  at  the 
castle  of  Schoenbrunn,  and  the  other,  at  the  citadel 
of  Blaye. 

31* 


366  CONCLUSION, 

And  now,  what  has  become  of  Napoleon  11.  and 
H  enry  V  1 

Having  taken  a  rapid  but  exact  view  of  the  past, 
let  us  now  glance  at  the  present  —  in  which,  perhaps 
we  may  gain  some  glimmerings  of  the  future. 

We  have  followed  the  monarchy  over  the  four 
great  stepping-stones  which  it  has  surmounted  and 
which  have  crumbled  behind  it — pointing  out,  by 
their  successive  ruin,  the  impossibility  of  returning 
by  the  same  route.  We  have  seen  the  monarchy 
descending  to  our  own  time  leaning,  by  turns,  on 
the  twelve  grand  vassals  of  Hugh  Capet,  the  two 
hundred  great  lords  of  Francis  I.  and  the  fifty  thou- 
sand aristocrats  of  Louis  XV.  She  now  makes  a 
halt  before  us,  sustained  by  the  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  great  proprietaries  and  working-men, 
of  whom  Louis-Philippe  is  the  representative.  Let 
us  see  whether  this  aristocratic  representation  will 
suffice  for  France,  and  whether  the  whole  population 
will  be  contented  with  it. 

We  do  not  believe  they  will. 

The  number  of  proprietaries  actually  existing 
in  France  amounts,  according  to  the  highest  esti- 
mates, to  five  millions  ;  and,  according  to  the  more 
moderate  calculation,  to  four  millions  and  a  half. 
We  shall  adopt  the  latter  for  our  basis,  as  it  is  the 
lowest. 

Among  these  four  and  a  half  millions  of  proprie- 
taries, the  copy-holders,  of  two  hundred  francs  and 


CONCLUSION,  367 

upward,  form  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand  :  the  patentees  of  the  great  cities,  such  as 
Paris,  Lyons,  Bordeaux,  Marseilles,  Nantes,  Rouen, 
etc.  etc.  complete  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  electors  —  the  total  amount  for  1831. 
The  manufacturing  interest  is  therefore  joined  to  the 
landed  interest  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  four. 

Deduct  this  hundred  and  thirteen  thousand  from 
the  total  of  four  and  a  half  millions  ;  and  we  have 
four  millions,  three  hundred  and  eighty-seven  thou- 
sand proprietaries  cut  off  from  the  right  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  Chamber  :  nevertheless,  these  politi- 
cal parias  pay  a  little  more  than  two  thirds  of  the 
national  taxes,  while  the  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand  electors  pay  something  less  than  one  third. 

Let  us  now  take  from  this  one  hundred  and  thirteen 
thousand,  those  who  are  eligible  to  election  ;  and  we 
have  fourteen  thousand  copy-holders  at  five  hundred 
francs  each,  and  ninety-nine  thousand  at  two  hun- 
dred francs. 

Consequently,  but  fourteen  thousand  individuals 
are  entitled  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  government : 
the  remaining  ninety-nine  thousand  take  only  a  facti- 
tious part  therein,  by  voting  for  men  who  do  not 
even  represent  them,  since  the  parties  eligible  are 
their  superiors  in  rights  and  in  fortune. 

Now,  among  these  fourteen  thousand  aristocrats  of 
property  who  are  qualified  to  become  deputies  — and 
therefore   ministers,   peers,    counsellors    of    State, 


368  CONCLUSION, 

receivers-general  and  prefects  ;  and,  indeed,  anything 
at  will,  of  which  the  rest  are  incapable  and  unwor- 
thy— nearly  seven  thousand,  i.  e.  one  half,  are  embar- 
rassed with  ruinous  mortgages,  and  look  to  their 
official  position  to  repair,  by  the  ministerial  sale  of 
their  votes,  their  dilapidated  fortunes. 

Thus,  the  government  of  Louis-Philippe  is  in  re- 
ality a  representation  of  the  interests  of  only  four- 
teen thousand  privileged  persons — although  it  ap- 
pears, at  first  sight,  to  rest  upon  one  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  electors  ;  and  although  its  advocates 
have  the  hardihood  to  aver  that  its  basis  is  the  whole 
proprietary-interest  of  four  and  a  half  millions  of  men. 

It  is  here  that  we  differ  from  the  republican  theo- 
ries that  have  preceded  ours  —  since,  instead  of 
seeking  for  the  spirit  of  progression  among  the  poorer 
classes,  we  hope  to  find  it  in  those  who  are  possessors 
of  property  :  for,  at  the  present  day,  the  owners  of 
property  are  almost  a  majority  in  France.  Because, 
if  each  of  these  four  and  a  half  millions  of  proprie- 
taries, have  but  a  son,  a  nephew,  or  any  other  heir, 
we  find  at  once  nine  millions  of  individuals  having 
the  same  interests,  cherishing  the  same  desire ;  a 
desire  of  preservation :  a  desire  against  which  all 
attempt  at  spoliation  would  be  vain,  even  if  the 
property  were  not,  in  the  hands  of  its  possessors, 
unalienable  as  it  is  :  since,  if  we  separate  the  old 
men,  women  and  children  from  the  twenty  mil- 
lions  of  inhabitants   that  remain,   the   number   of 


CONCLUSION.  369 

those  who  own  noflhing  [proletaires)*  would  fall 
short  of  this  number  of  proprietaries.  But,  we 
repeat,  property  is  unalienable,  whatever  may  have 
been  said  by  the  lying  voice  of  the  government, 
which  falsely  proclaims  itself  the  representative  of 
property  to  induce  the  owners  thereof  to  unite  for 
its  support ;  and  which  has  succeeded  in  making 
these  owners  believe,  for  the  moment,  that  there  is 
no  security  to  their  property  but  in  the  protection  it 
offers  them  against  the  agrarian  encroachments  of 
those  who  own  nothing. 

It  is  necessary,  then,  only  to  quiet  a  few  ground- 
less fears,  in  order  to  rally  to  the  progressive  move- 
ment, the  genei'al  proprietary-interest,  to  which  a 
moment  of  irresolution  has  given  the  appearance  of 
retrograding ;  but  this  appearance  will  be  changed 
the  instant  it  is  made  obvious  that  the  general  good 
calls  for  the  progressive  principle  and  will  not  bring 
individual  interest  into  jeopardy  by  its  operation. 


*  As  this  word  cannot  be  translated,  its  definition,  as  given 
by  Jean  Reynand,  is  here  subjoined :  "  I  give  the  name  of  pro- 
lUaires  to  those  men  vho  produce  the  riches  of  the  nation,  yet 
possess  only  the  daily  wages  of  their  labor,  which  labor, 
too,  depends  on  causes  beyond  their  control.  They  draw,  day 
by  day,  from  their  toil,  but  a  scanty  portion;  and  that  portion 
is  constantly  decreasing  by  competition.  They  look  to  the 
morrow  with  a  hope  as  unstable  as  the  irregular  fluctuations 
of  trade,  and  the  prospect  of  their  old  age  is  bounded  by  the  hos- 
pital and  the  grave." 


370  CONCLUSION. 

Let  us  prove,  then,  that  these  fears  are  unfounded. 

If  our  readers  have  follow^ed  vv^ith  attention  the 
preceding  history  of  France,  they  must  have  remarked 
that  each  successive  revolution  resulted  in  the  remo- 
val of  property  from  the  hands  in  which  it  vv^as  found 
and  its  transfer,  by  division,  into  more  numerous 
hands — thus  always  bringing  it  nearer  to  the  people. 
This  is  because  the  men  who  are  bom  upon  a  terri- 
tory, have,  alone,  the  right  of  possessing  that  terri- 
tory :  for,  as  God  made  them  for  the  land,  so  He 
made  the  land  for  them.  Chance  may  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  keep  them  from  its  possession,  but 
harmony  is  interrupted  until  it  is  restored  to  them 
again.  Hence  arise  revolutions,  which  appear  to 
derange  the  social  order ;  but  which,  in  reality,  tend 
to  the  primitive  re-organization  of  that  order. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  Caesar  converted 
Graul  into  a  Roman  province,  and  its  inhabitants  into 
Roman  citizens.  That  is  to  say,  in  the  annexation 
of  Gaul  to  the  empire,  the  vanquished  people  lost 
none  of  their  rights  to  the  soil  on  which  they  dwelt; 
and  this  is  not  strange,  for  the  Romans  did  not  emi- 
grate into  the  provinces  they  conquered.  The 
Roman  spirit  felt  circumscribed  within  the  limits  of 
the  universe  ;  but  the  Roman  people  dwelt  at  ease 
in  Rome. 

The  character  of  the  Frank  conquest  was  exactly 
the  reverse  of  this.  The  colonies,  conducted  by 
Mere-wig  had  been  forcibly  driven  from  Germany 


CONCLUSION.  371 

by  the  Eastern  hordes  that  burst  from  the  fastnesses 
of  Asia,  and  appeared  in  Europe  under  the  command 
of  Alaric  and  Attila.  It  was  not,  therefore,  a  thirst 
for  the  glory  of  arms  that  urged  toward  Gaul  these 
armed  beggars  in  quest  of  a  kingdom — but  the 
necessity  of  a  refuge  for  their  fathers,  their  wives 
and  their  children.  And  as  at  this  time  all  coun- 
tries were  inhabited,  they  sought  and  took  posses- 
sion of  the  territory  of  a  people  weaker  than  them- 
selves under  the  pretext  that  those  stronger  than 
themselves  had  robbed  them  of  their  original  do- 
mains. 

We  have  therefore  seen  the  first  Kings  of  France 
seize  upon  Gaul  and  divide  the  conquest  among 
their  chiefs,  without  pausing  to  consider  that  they 
possessed  it  only  by  right  of  the  stronger. 

We  have  also  seen  that  when  the  national  reac- 
tion took  place,  the  men  of  the  conquest  sided  with 
the  interest  of  the  French  soil  against  the  Frank 
dynasty.  They  thus  restored  to  the  kingdom  its 
nationality  :  but,  by  constituting  themselves  into 
privileged  classes,  they  retained  the  lands  of  the 
nation. 

Louis  XI.  effected  a  transfer  of  these  lands  from 
the  grand  vassalage  to  the  grand  seigniory ;  and 
Richelieu  transferred  them  from  the  grand  seigniory 
to  the  aristocracy :  but  the  Convention  alone  conveyed 
them  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  people.  It  is 
therefore  only  since  '93,  that  these  lands  have  been 


372  CONCLUSION. 

—  as  in  the  time  of  the  Gauls — in  the  hands  of 
those  who  have  the  right  to  possess  them.  But  to 
the  attainment  of  this  end,  fourteen  centuries  and 
six  revolutions  were  requisite  ;  and,  that  all  might 
be  legal,  as  there  had  been  prescription,  redemption 
became  necessary. 

To  accomplish  this  last  necessity  — and  those  who 
gained  most  by  the  result  are  perhaps  the  least 
conscious  of  their  obligation  —  the  Convention 
decreed  that  enormous  issue  of  assignats,  (forty- 
four  thousand  millions)  which  placed  within  reach  of 
the  people  the  possibility  of  acquiring  property  :  for 
the  value  of  this  depreciated  currency,  factitious  in 
all  other  negotiations,  became  real  for  the  purchase 
of  domains  which,  by  instinct  rather  than  knowledge, 
the  Convention  called  national.  It  is  owing  to 
this  concurrence,  which  was  first  aided  by  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  rights  of  primogeniture  and  afterward 
by  the  suppression  of  hereditary  privileges,  that  this 
inconceivable  multiplication  of  proprietaries  has  been 
effected ;  an  increase,  within  forty  years,  from  fifty 
thousand  to  four  and  a  half  millions. 

Thus,  the  owners  of  property  may  now  regard  its 
possession  as  unalienable,  and  any  new  revolution  as 
impossible.  Indeed,  for  what  purpose  should  there 
now  be  a  revolution,  since  distinct  classes,  from  the 
grand  vassalage  to  the  aristocracy,  are  all  destroyed  % 
territorial  division,  fettered  in  former  times  by  the 
privileges  of  these  classes,  now  takes  place  without 


CONCLUSION.  373 

hindrance  among  the  people  :  the  nation  is  one  large 
and  single  family,  where  all  are  brethren,  and  every 
brother  has  the  same  rights. 

Property,  so  powerful  in  itself,  no  longer  needs  the 
factitious  support  of  a  government  which  does  not 
represent  it ;  but  which,  drawing  everything  from  its 
resources  and  giving  nothing  in  return,  must  needs 
be  mortal  to  its  interests  —  mortal,  by  reason  of  the 
annual  budgets  by  which  the  government  draws  the 
blood  from  the  body  of  the  nation  and  injects  it  into 
its  own  veins.  Government  in  the  body-politic  is 
intended  to  perform  the  office  of  the  heart  in  the 
human  body  :  it  should  transmit  to  the  arteries  the 
same  quantity  of  blood  as  it  receives  from  them  :  let 
it  retain  but  one  drop,  and  the  whole  economy  is 
disorganized. 

Thus,  the  present  government  will  fall  without  any 
concussion,  and  by  the  simple  substitution  of  rational 
for  revolutionary  policy.  It  will  fall,  not  by  the 
efforts  of  those  who  have  nothing ;  but  by  the  voice 
of  those  who  possess  something.  It  will  fall,  because 
it  represents  and  is  sustained  only  by  the  aristocracy 
of  wealth  —  which  aristocracy  is  every  day  weaken- 
ing itself  by  partition,  and  must  soon  give  way 
beneath  the  cumbrous  and  worthless  superstructure. 

Probably  the  event  will  occur  in  this  manner.    The 

copy-holder  of  two  hundred  francs  will  be  the  first 

to  perceive  that  the  concession  to  him  of  electoral 

privilege  is  illusory  :  that  the  subordinate  part  yield- 

32 


374  CONCLUSION. 

ed  to  him  in  the  government  would  not  enable  him 
to  turn  it  from  its  course  even  if  that  course  should 
conflict  with  his  interests — since  his  influence  is  not 
direct,  but  is  exercised  only  through  a  proxy,  whose 
fortune  at  the  lowest  estimate  is  three-fifths  superior 
to  his  own.  Now,  we  all  know  that  our  equals  alone 
can  appreciate  our  necessities,  because  they  have 
experienced  them  :  that  our  peers  alone  will  defend 
our  interests,  because  theirs  and  ours  are  identical ; 
and,  consequently,  that  we  can  rely  only  on  our  peers 
and  our  equals  to  foresee  the  one  and  protect  the  other. 

From  the  day  that  the  electors  shall  be  convinced 
of  this  truth  —  and  the  day  is  not  far  distant  —  they 
will  require  from  their  deputies  a  promise  to  reduce 
the  rate  of  eligibility  to  two  hundred  francs,  and  of 
the  electoral  privilege  to  one  hundred.  The  candi- 
dates will  give  this  pledge  in  order  to  be  elected,  and 
redeem  it  in  order  to  be  re-elected ;  and  the  two- 
fold reduction  of  the  rate  of  electorship  and  eligi- 
bility will  be  the  result  of  this  measure. 

The  parliamentary  revolution  will  then  commence. 

After  a  time,  the  electors  of  one  hundred  francs 
will  perceive  that  they  are  no  more  represented  by 
their  eligible  candidates  of  two  hundred  francs,  than 
the  latter  were  by  the  copy-holders  of  five  hundred. 
This  discovery  will  be  followed  by  the  same  mea- 
sures ;  the  same  necessities  will  bring  about  the 
same  results ;  and  the  rates  will  thus  be  lowered  by 
a  constantly  decreasing  progression  until  every  one 


CONCLUSION.  375 

who  owns  nothing  will  be  an  elector,  and  all  who 
own  anything  will  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  a 
deputy. 

Then,  the  parliamentary  revolution  will  be  achieved. 

A  government  in  harmony  with  the  wants,  the  in- 
terests and  the  wishes  of  all,  will  next  be  established. 
Let  it  be  styled  a  monarchy,  a  presidency  or  a  repub- 
lic—  it  is  immaterial:  for  this  government  will  he 
a  magistracy  and  nothing  more.  A  quinquennial 
magistracy,  probably;  for  that  is  the  form  of  govern- 
ment which  presents  the  best  chance  of  tranquillity  to 
a  people ;  since  those  who  are  contented  with  the 
administration  of  their  delegate,  have  the  hope  to  re- 
elect him  ;  and  those  who  are  dissatisfied,  have  the 
right  to  supersede  him. 

But  then,  also,  as  the  aristocracy  of  wealth — the 
present  transitory  government  —  will  have  had  its 
representative  ;  so,  the  property  of  the  nation  at 
large  must  in  turn  be  represented  :  only,  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  one  cannot  be  that  of  the  other.  For 
it  is  necessary  that  this  last  should  be  the  exact  type 
of  his  time,  as  Ijouis-Philippe,  Louis  XV.,  Francis 
I.,  and  Hugh  Capet  were  types  of  theirs.  He  must 
be  born  among  the  people,  so  that  there  may  be 
sympathy  between  him  and  the  people.  His  private 
fortune  must  not  be  above  the  general  average  of 
fortunes,  so  that  his  interests  may  be  similar  to  the 
interests  of  all.  His  civil  list  must  be  restricted  to 
the  strict  necessity  of  his  expenses,  so  that  he  can 


376  CONCLUSION, 

have  no  control  over  the  means  of  corruption,  by  the 
aid  of  which,  at  the  election  of  his  successor,  he 
might  subsidize  a  party  whose  will  would  not  be  the 
will  of  the  nation.  This  representative,  therefore, 
can  be  neither  a  man  of  the  blood-royal,  nor  a  great 
proprietary. 

This  is  the  Charybdis  where  the  pi'esent  govern- 
ment will  be  ingulphed.  The  Pharos  that  we  light 
up  on  its  route  will  illumine  only  its  wreck  ;  for 
even  if  the  pilot  were  disposed  to  tack,  he  no  longer 
has  the  power  to  do  so ;  the  current  which  drags 
the  ship  onward  is  too  rapid,  and  the  gale  that  pro- 
pels it  is  too  strong.  But,  at  the  hour  of  its  destruc- 
tion, the  recollections  of  a  man,  overpowering  those 
of  a  citizen,  will  cause  one  voice  to  exclaim,  Death 
to  royalty — hut  God  save  the  King  } 

That  voice  vnll  be  mine  ! 


THE    END. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  886  422    5 


liiiiiiiro" 

I'llill;. 

■«l«:& 

